This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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£2.5 million shared among small firms
25/06/2002
Small firms with big ideas were today awarded a share of £2.5 million by the Executive to carry out research and development.
The 17 companies are winners from the first round of the 2002 SMART:SCOTLAND Competition, who have been awarded £765,000 to undertake technical feasibility studies. Nearly £1.8m of further funding will be made available to take the novel ideas to pre-production prototype stage.
Announcing the Awards, Enterprise Minister Iain Gray said:
"The Scottish Executive is fully committed to creating an enterprise culture of innovation for Scotland. Investing in science and skills and encouraging commercialisation of new technologies is vital for our global success.
"SMART:SCOTLAND plays a key role in providing support for highly innovative technology based small businesses who frequently have difficulty securing early stage funding. SMART support fast tracks businesses to the marketplace to ensure they become leaders in global markets."
The winning companies are:
Adaptive Programmable Silicon (APS) Ltd, Edinburgh
Advanced Biometric Systems Ltd, Greenock
Beat Systems Ltd, Coatbridge
Deep Life Ltd, Burray, Orkney Isles
Environmental Building Partnership Ltd, Inverurie
Fluid Transfer Technology Ltd, Aberdeen
Halpin Innovation Ltd, Melrose
MACOM Technologies (UK) Ltd, Paisley
Nexus TSP Ltd, Aberdeen
PetroData Ltd, Aberdeen.
PyrroNostics Ltd, Aberdeen
ReGenTech Ltd, Ellon
Servenorth Ltd, Wormit, Fife
Simulistics Ltd, Edinburgh
Symons Downhole Tooling Ltd, Aberdeen
Trigen Mobile Software Ltd, Glasgow
Virtual Mirrors Ltd, Bathgate
The Minister concluded:
"I am delighted to be able to make these Awards to businesses right across Scotland, from the Orkney Isles through to the Borders. The quality and diversity of the winning projects demonstrates that companies all over the country are embracing innovation and investing in both their own and Scotland's futures."
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. £4.38 million) or a balance sheet total not exceeding EURO 5 million (approx. £3.13 million).
There are three rounds of judging each year and the Government meets 75% of the project costs, subject to a maximum award of £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% 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 supports small businesses with less than 50 employees to develop new leading edge products and processes. Many of Scotland's fastest growing high-tech companies are previous winners of the Competition.