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Archery centre on target with innovation  

A centre for archery in Warwickshire is aiming to score a bullseye with an innovative target for arrows.

Stratford Archery Centre has pioneered the use of new technologies to create an archery target, known as a boss, which is made from recycled materials.

Unlike other foam-based archery targets, it is made from waste materials which provide an environmentally-friendly alternative to those traditionally made from straw.

The company has been helped with £4,000 from Funding 4 Innovation, a scheme offering grants to SMEs in rural Warwickshire, which has enabled its eco-friendly boss to now be taken to market.

The recycled boss was the brain child of Paul Hadley, a lifelong archer who gave up his career as a sound engineer to set up Stratford Archery Centre in 2012 to capitalise on a surge of interest in the sport generated by hit movies The Hunger Games and Brave, and the London Olympics.

Stratford Archery Centre is based in the grounds of Stratford Manor Hotel on the outskirts of Stratford-upon-Avon, with an outdoor shooting range used by around 3,500 people a year.

Paul, a qualified archery coach and instructor, started off with traditional straw targets but found them heavy and difficult to move as well as deteriorating rapidly and giving off an unpleasant odour.

He wanted to create a boss from recycled materials and experimented with a few ideas before hitting on foam that had been used in the automotive accessory manufacturing process. He found a local company that could supply waste foam materials destined for landfill.

The first prototypes made at Paul’s home near Wellesbourne proved successful as they were more mobile and resilient, and so he stepped up development into a converted milking parlour on a nearby farm.

He then approached Funding 4 Innovation for a grant to upgrade equipment, which involved moving production into a unit at the Arden Forest Industrial Estate in Alcester and installing a bespoke press-compressor to squash layers of foam under intense pressure.

Paul said: “There is nobody on the market that has got the green credentials that we have. Other bosses are constructed from products that are specifically made for the target whereas ours is a by-product of waste material.

“The way the material works through friction and compression is completely different to any other technology being used. We wouldn’t have been able to buy the new equipment or go through that scientific research process without Funding 4 Innovation.”

The sustainability of the boss stretches to its frame which is made from wood locally sourced from the Ragley Hall estate in Alcester.

Paul added: “The real buzz for me is the feedback from archers who say it performs really well and is kind to them and their arrows as it’s easier to remove them from the target. It’s twice as durable as straw targets in terms of the number of shots it can take.”

Funding 4 Innovation is managed by Coventry University Enterprises. The scheme is part of the Warwickshire Rural Growth Network, funded by Defra and led by Warwickshire County Council on behalf of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

Judy Lambourne, project manager for Funding 4 Innovation, said: “Stratford Archery Centre is among the first to benefit from Funding 4 Innovation, which offers grants of between £3,000 and £5,000 to SMEs in rural Warwickshire who are working with another local SME on a new product, process or service.

“The grant was critical in the development of such an innovative product and I would encourage other eligible SMEs in rural Warwickshire to apply for funding that could make a real difference to their business.”

For more information visit www.funding4innovation.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Joyce .