Partner Article

Collaboration brings buckets of benefits

A Consett-based company is boosting its business with the help of Northumbria University. By linking up with Northumbria in a Corporate Innovation Partnership (CIP), Anross Ltd was able to develop a new range of buckets for mechanical diggers.

Chris Parkin, a recent graduate from Northumbria’s Mechanical Design and Technology course, worked for nine months on the new products. The company needed help with the design and development of three new buckets to be used in the construction, quarrying, plant hire and recycling industries.

Mr Rod Leyland, Managing Director of Anross, said: “This project enabled us to advance the development of these products and bring them to market in a far shorter timescale than would otherwise have been possible. “By tapping into University expertise we can now project a significant increase in turnover by penetrating additional sectors of the recycling marketplace.’’

CIPs are designed to help businesses improve their competitiveness and productivity by using university knowledge and resources. The partnerships are part-funded by a government grant, which helps support the cost of employment, equipment, training and travel associated with the initiatives.

Chris, who has now been employed by Anross, said: “This has been a valuable opportunity to gain experience in industry. It has been hugely rewarding to work on this project and an added bonus is that I’m now one of their employees.’’

Anyone interested in finding out more about CIPs are asked to contact Bill Frain, Knowledge Transfer Manager at Northumbria University, on (0191) 243 7804.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .