A Short Knowledge Transfer Partnership (SKTP) between Hampshire power specialists Powertecnique and the University of Portsmouth has led to business growth and the recent employment of six of the University’s graduates at Powertecnique.
Research specialist Paul Trott led the University’s side of the SKTP, which began in autumn 2010 when the University employed graduate Owen McIntyre on a nine-month contract to carry out the SKTP project with Powertecnique. Supported by Strategy Enterprise and Innovation lecturer Dr Andreas Hoecht, and marketing lecturer David Ward, the team’s first task was to define an existing product, PowerShelter, and decided who might need it.
In an interview, Paul Trott commented: “It was very refreshing for us at the Business School to be involved with a project where the management team was clear about its strengths and its weaknesses. I am sure this helped contribute to the speed of the success”.
“We sought to identify a new market for an existing product,” says McIntyre, “which would enable us to standardise PowerShelter to meet a fresh set of specific needs. We looked at a number of potential markets, including a fairly serious investigation into oil & gas where the need for robust containerisation is clear, the MOD and International Rescue operators supporting disaster relief, before selecting the new market.”
McIntyre, who spent 90% of his contract working at Powertecnique’s site, was hired by the company at the end of the nine-month period, and the new product is currently being adapted for its new market. The company’s strong growth means McIntyre has been joined by five further Portsmouth graduates working across marketing, operations, sales and finance.
Powertecnique Managing Director Darren Pearce says, “The SKTP has proved extremely beneficial to us, and we greatly value the input of our University colleagues.”
