This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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£9.5 million for Scotland's innovative firms
16/06/2003
A record number of SMART:SCOTLAND Awards with a potential value of £9.5 million were presented today at the annual SMART Awards ceremony.
The SMART awards are designed to help 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 and processes
Forty seven small companies are sharing up to £9.5 million to help them develop new products.
Speaking at the awards ceremony for the 2002 winners Enterprise Minister Jim Wallace said:
"At this event last year a record 42 SMART Awards were presented. Today, I am very pleased to announce that this record has once again been broken.
"This underlines the Scottish Executive's commitment to continuing to provide a highly effective pipeline of support - to transform our brightest innovations into successful business opportunities."
In addition to congratulating last year's successful entrants, Mr Wallace announced the first round of SMART:SCOTLAND winners for 2003. Twelve winners will receive a combined total of £540,000 to undertake technical feasibility studies.
The Minister added: "The Executive's recently announced Partnership for a Better Scotland placed economic growth as our top priority. It sets out a vision for a Scotland where enterprise can flourish. We must promote an entrepreneurial culture and recognise the need to support risk-taking as a means of growing the economy.
"Many of Scotland's small firms are already competing successfully on a global basis by developing truly world-beating technology. We are proud of these achievements and I am confident that today's SMART winners will have the potential to emulate their success."
There are three rounds of judging each year for SMART: SCOTLAND with closing dates for applications in January, May and September. The 2002 winners were announced on June 25, 2002 (Round 1), August 20, 2002 (Round 2) and January 27, 2003 (Round 3).
Entries for SMART:SCOTLAND can be submitted 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 7 million Euros (approx £4.24 million) or a balance sheet total not exceeding 5 million Euros (approx £3.03 million).
The Government meets 75 per cent of the project costs and the maximum award payable under SMART:SCOTLAND has recently been raised to £50,000 with an up-front payment of a third of this amount. Projects normally last between six and 18 months.
Winners who successfully complete their projects and require additional assistance to develop a pre-production prototype can apply for further funding under the non-competitive SPUR scheme.
The SMART, SPUR and SPUR Plus Programmes were recently revised to address the main recommendations from independent evaluations and an extensive consultation exercise. The evaluations found the scheme to be very effective in encouraging nationally significant innovation and an important catalyst in levering private investment to high-tech companies.
The 12 winning projects in the 2003 Round 1 SMART:SCOTLAND Competition are:
Brinker Technology Ltd, Aberdeen
New Technology for Leak Detection and Sealing in Pipelines
2. Alpha Data Parallel Systems Ltd, Edinburgh
Development of a FPGA Partial Re-configuration Platform
4i2i Communications Ltd, Aberdeen
Development of an ADSL Powerline Router IP Core
Smartscope MD Ltd, Edinburgh
Development of Medical Imaging Technology
Haptogen Ltd, Aberdeen
Novel Agents for the Treatment of Obesity and CNS Disease
Sciencesoft Ltd, Motherwell
History Matching Using Streamline Simulators
Predictions Software Ltd, Edinburgh
New Automated Integrated Circuit Layout Yield Enhancer
Plenoptics, Edinburgh
Photogrammetry Technology in 3D Tools for Rapid Creation of Realistic Models
LUTESS Ltd, Edinburgh
Development of a New High Throughput Screening Technology, InLit TM, for Anti-fungal Drug Discovery
Exterity Ltd,
Synchronisation of AV Media Streams Distributed over IP Networks
Cult Hill Innovation Ltd, Dollar
Development of a New Operations Support Software Builder for Telecommunications
Virtual Clones Ltd, Glasgow
3D Capture of Animated Virtual Characters
The 47 winning projects in the 2002 SMART:SCOTLAND Competition are:
INDUSTRY
1. Advanced Biometric Systems Ltd, Greenock
2. Applied Photonic Sensors Ltd, Alness
3. Aros Developments Ltd, Inverness
4. Beat Systems Ltd, Glasgow
5. Deep Life Ltd, Orkney
6. DRIFTCO Ltd, Aberdeen
7. D-TACQ Solutions Ltd, East Kilbride
8. Envirogene Systems Ltd, Helensburgh
9. Fluid Transfer Technology Ltd, Aberdeen
10. Fortkey Ltd, Gladsmuir (East Lothian)
- Halpin Innovation Ltd, Melrose
12. Highland Geology Ltd, Helensburgh
13. hydrosense Ltd, Linlithgow
14. Macom Technologies (UK) Ltd, Paisley
15. Maxiba Ltd, Glasgow
16. Nexus TSP Ltd, Aberdeen
17. PetroData Ltd, Aberdeen
18. purple patch wireless ltd, East Kilbride
19. ReGenTech Ltd, Ellon
20. Salent Technologies Ltd, Linlithgow
21. SERVENORTH Ltd, Wormit (Fife)
22. TeleIT Ltd, Glasgow
23. terraVista Ltd, Isle of Lewis
24. TROYANYS Ltd, Peebles
25. Virtual-Mirrors Ltd, Bathgate
SCIENCE BASE
26. AXIOPE Ltd, Edinburgh
27. BIOPTA Ltd, Glasgow
28. Calico Jack Ltd, Cupar (Fife)
29. Critical Blue Ltd, Edinburgh
30. DEM Solutions Ltd, Edinburgh
31. Environmental Building Partnership Ltd, Aberdeen
32. IceRobotics Ltd, Edinburgh
33. I D & M Ltd, Dundee
- Ingenza Ltd, Edinburgh
35. IRIS-3D Ltd, Glasgow
36. Kelvin Connect Ltd, Glasgow
37. LinearB Ltd, Edinburgh
38. LUX Biotechnology Ltd, Edinburgh
39. MicroStencil Ltd, Edinburgh
- PhotoSynergy Ltd, Dundee
41. PyrroNostics Ltd, Aberdeen
42. Renewable Devices Ltd, Edinburgh
43. SeeByte Ltd, Edinburgh
44. Simulistics Ltd, Edinburgh
45. STAR-Dundee Ltd, Dundee
46. Stem Cell Sciences (UK) Ltd, Edinburgh
47. Thin Film Innovations Ltd, Coatbridge