This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Small firms scoop £4 million innovation prize
24/09/2001
Innovation was rewarded today when 27 up-and-coming businesses shared £4 million of prize money in the 2001 SMART:SCOTLAND Competition.
SMART:SCOTLAND, which is now in its fifth year, helps new and existing small businesses, with less than 50 employees, gain a competitive edge in the market by funding the development of innovative and commercially viable products.
Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Wendy Alexander today announced the results of the first two rounds of the annual competition. The winners have attracted over £1.2 million funding to test the feasibility of their research and development projects, with further funds of over £2.8 million available to take projects through to a pre-production prototype stage.
Ms Alexander said:
"The Scottish Executive is creating a pipeline of support to transform our brightest innovations into successful business opportunities.
"SMART:SCOTLAND plays a fundamental role in helping small companies develop new leading edge products and processes. The outstanding quality and range of projects which have come through the competition this year, demonstrate the global market potential of Scottish innovation.
"SMART funding provides a springboard for small companies in overcoming financial barriers at the early stages of their research and development projects. In today's competitive climate it can give Scottish companies the edge which allows them to grow and prosper.
"SMART also provides a highly effective commercialisation route for the world class research emanating from Scotland's Universities and Research Institutes.
"Developing an environment to support a knowledge-driven economy is at the heart of our ambitions for Scotland. The continued ability of industry in Scotland to remain competitive and sustain its own development is dependent on showing a high commitment to research and development.
"Forward looking business will be the industry leaders of tomorrow. The Scottish Executive is committed to supporting and promoting leading edge research and development within industry. Today's SMART winners provide excellent examples of Scottish business investing, with Executive support, in their future success."
BACKGROUND
1: A full list of award winners for the first and second rounds of the SMART:SCOTLAND 2001 Competition are detailed below. Media may directly approach the companies for further information.
2: Entries for SMART:SCOTLAND can be submitted at any time of the year by individuals planning to start a business in Scotland and by existing small firms/groups with less than 50 employees. Applicants should have either an annual turnover not exceeding EURO 7 million (approx. £4.42 million) or a balance sheet total not exceeding EURO 5 million (approx. £3.16 million
3: There are three rounds of judging each year and the maximum award is £45,000. Winners who successfully complete their projects and require additional assistance to develop a pre-production prototype can apply for further funding under the second stage of SMART. This stage is non-competitive and grant is available at 35 per cent of the eligible project costs, subject to a maximum grant of £150,000 for both stages. Second stage projects must last between six and thirty six months.
SMART:SCOTLAND 2001, ROUND ONE WINNERS
1. Century Subsea Ltd: Aberdeen - Subsea technology to enable remotely operated vehicles to operate independently of surface support vessels.
Contact: Mr Mark Vorenkamp
Tel: 01224 560500
2. The Crystal Consortium Ltd: Glasgow - Novel methods for improving spatial uniformity in piezo-crystals.
Contact: Hugh Gallagher
Tel: 0141 548 4015
3. Hamdeen (UK) Ltd: Aberdeen - Coiled tubing percussion drilling.
Contact: Mr Rory Cooper
Tel: 01224 252725
4. Internet Design Tools Ltd: Edinburgh - Large scale simulation to support the design of internet quality of service networks.
Contact: Martin Westhead
Tel: 0131 478 1169
5. Intexia Ltd: Midlothian - 3-D Ink-jet texturing for embossing rollers.
Contact: Dr Jonathan Muhl
Tel: 0131 440 3969
6. Luminous Technology Ltd: Greenock - Optically Active Coating System for dry film thickness measurement.
Contact: Bill Cooper
Tel: 01475 793600
7. Nandi Biotechnology Ltd: Edinburgh - Spray-drying technology for the manufacture of fat replacement products in the food industry.
Contact: Dr Lydia Campbell
Tel: 0131 451 3458
8. Technology Transfer Centre Ltd: Glasgow - Development of a novel cochlear implant.
Contact: Dr Oonagh Loughran
Tel: 01786 447520
SMART:SCOTLAND 2001, ROUND TWO WINNERS
9. Affective Media Ltd: Edinburgh - Interacting emotionally with mobile devices.
Contact: Christian Jones
Tel: 0131 451 3732
10. Alba Ultrasound Ltd: Glasgow - Ultrasound Multi Frequency developments.
Tel: 0141 548 2694
11. Applied Generics Ltd: Penicuik - Urban traffic analysis software for mobile network industry.
Contact: Joe Dixon
Tel: 01968 670572
12. AquaPharm Bio-Discovery Ltd: Anstruther - Novel marine dietary product for the aquaculture industry.
Contact: Dr Andrew Mearns Spragg
Tel: 07769 583314
13. Aquatic Diagnostics Ltd: Stirling - Commercialisation of immunodiagnostic reagants for use in aquaculture.
Contact: Dr Alexandra Adams
Tel: 01786 467910
14. Dr D Fraser Clark: Paisley - The development of a novel gas sensing technology.
Contact: Dr Fraser Clark
Tel: 0141 848 3408
15. Colonsay Communications Ltd: Coatbridge - Novel multiplexing technology and systems for fibre-optic metropolitan networks.
Contact: Wei Huang
Tel: 01236 702005
16. Digital Paradigm Ltd: Coatbridge - Development of a machine learning system for marking free-form text answers.
Contact: Dr Tom Mitchell
Tel: 01236 702012
17. ExpressOn BioSystems Ltd: Edinburgh - Antisense as a controllable therapeutic in the nervous system.
Contact: Peter Estibeiro
Tel: 0131 650 3731
18. Fourth Person Ltd: Edinburgh - Automatic text generation: Generic tools for domain capture.
Contact: Jo Calder
Tel: 0131 650 4656
19. GeoWise Ltd: Edinburgh - The development of a geographic information processing and delivery system (GIPDS).
Contact: Mike Forster
Tel: 0131 624 8935
20. Glycologic Ltd: Glasgow - Slow release aspirin.
Contact: Dr Richard Tester
Tel: 0141 331 8514
21. Hanon Solutions Ltd: Glasgow - A Hand-Held Acquisition Notebook On-line (HANON) for Police Officers
Contact: Roy Hawes
Tel: 0141 585 6363
22. Infogistics Ltd: Edinburgh - Text mining technology for rapid building of document understanding software.
Contact: Andrei Mikheev
Tel: 0131 554 6461
23. Metachip Ltd: Edinburgh - System level design tools for system-on-chip design.
Contact: Mr Mark Doughty
Tel: 07811 178730
24. Optosci Ltd: Glasgow - Integrated fibre optic methane/CO 2 sensing system for landfill site applications.
Contact: Dr Douglas Walsh
Tel: 0141 552 7020
25. QICC Ltd: Ayr - Automated immunostaimer.
Contact: Robert Johnston
Tel: 01292 674139
26. Smart Tech Worldwide Ltd: Aberdeen - An expert system for compliance.
Contact: Mr Robert Taylor
Tel: 01224 635976
27. Waste Solutions Group Plc: Aberdeen - The development of a novel organic liquid feed containing plant growth regulators.
Contact: Bill Slater
Tel: 01224 580600