Multi-million pound fish food factory opened
/ REDCAR & CLEVELAND NEWS
Serving the Teesside Business Community | 53
MICROPORE SETTLES ON TEESSIDE AFTER £ 270K EXPANSION
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high-tech company with a growing bluechip client base is set for significant expansion after re-locating to Teesside and attracting support from two of the region’ s leading investors.
Micropore Technologies is planning a £ 270,000 expansion project with the help of a £ 110,000 investment from UK Steel Enterprise, the Tata Steel business-support subsidiary, and £ 100,000 from the North East Angel Fund managed by Rivers Capital Partners.
Micropore’ s patented membrane emulsification and encapsulation process is in growing demand across the pharmaceutical, food, agro-chemicals, aerospace and research sectors.
Since spinning out from Loughborough University’ s formulation research group in 2003, the partnership remains strong with the knowledge flow benefitting Micropore and its client base and enhancing research impact.
After working with a wide range of
Recruitment firm celebrates 10 years
A Teesside based recruitment company has celebrated 10 years in business, having placed over 600 candidates in science and industry roles across the UK during that time.
Techconsult UK was set up by managing director Steve Guest at the Wilton Centre near Redcar in 2006 and has evolved over the past decade, ramping up turnover from £ 100k in year one to £ 3m in the latest financial year.
Techconsult now employs a team of four recruitment specialists who are focused on finding candidates for roles in the process and petrochemical, oil and gas, renewable, subsea, science and biotechnology and civil engineering sectors.
• Pictured( above, left-to-right) is the Techconsult team: Steve Guest, Sarah Taylor, Iain McCabe and Ashleigh Yeoman. industries on trials and feasibility studies, Micropore has successfully scaled up its process to industrial production level and is growing both its team and customer base.
At a significant stage in its development, the company re-located from the East Midlands to the Wilton Centre in Redcar, choosing Teesside for the strength of the formulation knowledge base and supply chain, employable skill base, calibre of investors and quality of premises.
Micropore’ s process uses a sieve-type membrane to engineer droplets and particles to a uniform size using a process known as membrane emulsification.
The company’ s expertise, patented equipment and services are sought by manufacturers of foods, medicines, cosmetics and even rocket fuel looking to innovate and produce a high quality, costeffective product with reduced material wastage.
“ We have strong working relationships with a portfolio of exciting and exacting clients and work confidentially with them on their novel, leading-edge formulation developments across a wide range of market sectors,” said chief executive Dai Hayward.
Sarah Thorpe, from UK Steel Enterprise, added:“ This project demonstrates what can be done when investors, advisers and businesses work in close partnership.”
SIGNS GOOD FOR GRAPHICS SPECIALISTS
A company specialising in vehicle graphics has moved into a popular Teesside business centre to meet increased demand from customers that include former SSI employees setting up their own businesses.
MK DeSigns, started 18 months ago by Keith Edwards, provides a wide range of signage and vehicle graphics.
The move into new workshop and office premises at UK Steel Enterprise’ s Innovation Centre on the Kirkleatham Business Park in Redcar has brought his growing business under one roof for the first time.
Multi-million pound fish food factory opened
A mulit-million pound fish food factory with the potential to transform the salmon farming industry has opened on Teesside.
USA-based Calysta chose Teesside as the base for its state-of-the-art facility to manufacture sample quantities of FeedKind protein, a proprietary, competitively priced new fish and animal feed ingredient targeted at replacing fishmeal.
Calysta has teamed up with Wilton’ s CPI to develop a new fish food to replace fishmeal, with around 40 new jobs in the pipeline – and more in the supply chain.
Leading retailers, producers, investors and government representatives from around the globe, including Redcar MP Anna Turley, gathered to mark the opening along with Calysta president and CEO Alan Shaw( pictured).
TRAINING BUSINESS DOES £ 1M IN FIRST YEAR
A fledgling haulage training company which was set up as a direct result of the collapse of the Redcar steelworks has turned over £ 1m inside its first 12 months.
Former SSI employee Dan Wilcox set up Cleveland LGV Training after the collapse of the Redcar steelworks last year.
After financing two HGVs, nine former SSI workers were brought on board to learn a new trade followed by eight young trainee drivers all trained in partnership with Hartlepool College of Further Education.
Just 12 months on, Cleveland LGV Training now has 16 trucks, a 19-strong workforce and has turned over £ 1m by landing lucrative contracts with some large businesses in import and export.