The South West Manufacturing Advisory Service (SWMAS Ltd) is urging SME manufacturing businesses across the South West* to submit applications for new product support with grant funding as its Product Development Centre (PDC) project enters its final stage of operation.
The PDC, which is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (2007-2013) Competitiveness Programme, is a dedicated support programme focused on helping accelerate the development and introduction of new products from concept to commercial reality. The project can provide access to grants worth up to £10k to support up to 40 per cent of external costs associated with new product development.
To date, over 125 companies across the region, from sectors including environmental, food and drink, plastics, automotive, marine and electronics, have benefited from grant funding and the business mentoring and support provided by the PDC.
Paul Gilbert, Innovation Advisor at SWMAS, said: “The project has been a tremendous success to date but we are committed to ensuring that as many eligible businesses as possible access this unique support while it is still available. We are now particularly focused on assisting businesses with 25+ employees and a £1m+ turnover, offering a bespoke package of support tailored to suit each company’s specific needs.”
One company that has already benefited from the PDC project is Plasloc Ltd. Stephen Matthews, Managing Director, commented: “Right from our initial consultation SWMAS have been very helpful. The advisors understand our business and what we are looking to achieve and it took just a couple of weeks for the project to commence following our first meeting.”
Western Air Ducts has also received support from SWMAS. Chris Lintern, Managing Director, said: “SWMAS provided us with the capability to access funding that we wouldn’t have even considered applying for before. We have been impressed with the ease of the process and how responsive they have been throughout the project.”
