Laboratory celebrates 10 years of boosting hi-tech business

DARESBURY Laboratory, near Warrington, is celebrating 10 years of playing a key role in the success of early stage high tech businesses across the North West.
Since 2010, start-ups have gained affordable and flexible access to the laboratory’s multi-million pound research equipment, on-site expertise and business support that woud usually be out of reach for a small business.
With options to either lease their own exclusive-use labs, or opt for access to low commitment multi-user labs available on a daily basis, it continues to be a fantastic and dynamic environment that enables businesses to minimise their costs and grow into strong sustainable businesses.
However, this has been just the start of a vibrant, successful and ever growing suite of business incubation programmes for small businesses at Daresbury Laboratory, which now includes collaborative incubation programmes with both the European Space Agency and CERN, alongside the addition of a new, state-of-the-art digital prototyping facility, which includes a brand new virtual and augmented reality workstation.
Delyth Edwards, business incubation programmes manager at STFC Daresbury, said: “I’m thrilled to be celebrating 10 years of the invaluable role that the access to flexible laboratory space here at STFC’s Daresbury Laboratory is playing in the growth and success of early stage companies. Scientific breakthroughs and technologies developed by businesses continue to transform the world we live in, but for small high tech businesses, developing these kinds of innovative products and services can be an uphill struggle in difficult economic times and an increasingly global marketplace.
“We’ve had a fantastically successful 10 years, and it is our ambition that the campus will continue to develop and attract even more companies in the next decade, as they go on to develop innovative new products for the benefit of the UK and its people.”
Located within the vibrant Sci-Tech Daresbury Campus, a nationally recognised centre and community of high-tech business and innovation, businesses incubated there gain unique access to the support, expertise and innovation opportunities offered by the wider campus. Here collaboration is key and a “home-for-life” ethos makes it possible for, what may start as a one-person business using shared facilities, to scale up to a much larger business with its own facilities and equipment.
Further information about support for SMEs at Daresbury Laboratory and across STFC more generally, can be found at the STFC website.