Innovators have designs on award

3:21am Saturday 10th May 2008

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A WORCESTERSHIRE company proved that innovation is alive and well when it walked off with one of the major titles at the first ever Staffordshire University "Stars" Awards evening.

Central Weighing of Kidderminster, a market leader in vehicle weighing, tracking and management systems, was recognised for its pioneering Knowledge Transfer Partnership, which has seen it work with Staffordshire University's Greg Powell, Senior Development Engineer, to develop its products and improve its competitive advantage.

The project has been a huge success and allowed the firm to explore new markets, develop enhanced testing facilities and introduce a new administration system.

The KTP also looked at increasing the business' in-house design capabilities, a feature that will boost efficiency and lead to potential new sales.

Mark Wilcox, technical manager of Central Weighing, explained: "The industry we work in is extremely competitive and we need to continually strive for new innovations and products, which is a costly exercise.

"By transferring existing knowledge from the University and applying it to our business model, we have gained tremendous benefits and to be recognised for it is a real added bonus.

"The KPT has even recently been independently assessed and awarded a Grade A (Outstanding) and this means we are automatically entered into the Annual KTP Awards next year."

The Staffordshire University-backed competition, which encourages the role of academia in boosting enterprise and innovation, proved an overwhelming success, with over 100 high-profile guests on hand to celebrate the achievements of some of the region's most innovative entrepreneurs and companies.