Member Article

Teesside digital specialists drive into automotive sector + gear up for growth

A Teesside animation company has delivered a major contract with one of the UK’s most successful automotive parts and tools experts, whilst also revealing its fastest-growing year in its 11-year history.

Animmersion, based in Middlesbrough, has recently announced a 60% growth plan having delivered a number of high-profile contracts, including its first in the automotive sector with Sunderland-based automotive experts Unipres, as part of Animmersion’s ambition to expand into the sector.

As the competitive automotive landscape continues to expand and evolve, Unipres was keen to work with an organisation focused on creating a new approach to customer and community engagement through a range of interactive and portable tools. Animmersion’s team has been instrumental in putting the North East on the map for exactly this through its development of interactive software, animations, holograms and virtual reality technology over the past decade.

The three-month project included a unique mix of products and solutions that Animmersion offers, including the production of holograms, interactive touch screens, an app and an animation. A key element for Unipres was the ability to utilise these tools internally at their Sunderland HQ, externally at events and conferences and within the community at schools and colleges they work with as part of engagement and education programmes.

Unipres, which employs over 1000 people and counts the likes of Nissan, Honda and Renault amongst its clients, will use the digital tools to showcase and highlight the workings of the plant, their production capability and its long heritage along with its community work.

This new contract is part of a planned period of growth for Animmersion as it expands into new areas and new sectors. The company has been working closely with the North East Automotive Alliance (NEAA) which is supporting Animmersion in its ambitions to grow further in the automotive sector both regionally and nationally.

Animmersion, which has seen turnover almost double in the last year is now aiming to exceed the one million pounds mark and create up to 12 new jobs in the coming years.

The virtual reality and computer graphics company was set up by Dominic Lusardi, originally from Leeds, and Sam Harrison, from Nottingham, who met whilst studying together for a visualisation degree at Teesside University.

Animmersion was one of the first success stories from Teesside University’s DigitalCity programme and the majority of its team are graduates from the university.

The company produces VR and AR, holograms, animations and interactives for marketing, sales and training, as well as customer-facing products like interactive manuals for presentations across online and offline devices, working all over the world in sectors such as engineering and manufacturing, offshore and subsea, healthcare, retail and the automotive industry.

The client base to date includes organisations such as Atlas Copco, Sainsbury’s, St John’s Ambulance, Schneider Electric, Johnson Matthey, Vortex Valves, Pearson Engineering, Travis Perkins and CrowdVision to name just a few.

Managing director Dominic Lusardi said: “Unipres is a significant client for us as they are very prominent in the automotive sector with a global reputation. They required a total solution to enhance their business story and become more customer and community focused. Our exceptionally skilled team has worked closely with the Unipres team and developed an adaptable, full-service solution through spending time in the plant and really getting to know the business to truly understand their ambitions and to ensure the tools were adaptable and flexible to their needs.

“Unipres can use their tools in-house or at events and make maximum use of their digital assets which are essential in the current market. By taking advantage of technologies such as holograms, touch-based projection systems and tablets, we have created a truly interactive presentation system that can be used for one person or for 100 people. Taking this approach allows Unipres the flexibility to adapt their presentations and company information depending on their audience. It’s great that we can team with such a leader in the field, also based in the North East, as we continue to thrive from our buoyant Teesside base.”

Operations director Sam Harrison said: “Animmersion is a non-traditional Teesside business and we really strive to put the region on the map for emerging sectors such as ours. We’re proud to be based on Teesside and to be able to recruit from a talented pool of graduates from our local universities as we continue to grow, create jobs and expand our client base.” Guy Capstaff, information systems manager, at Unipres, said: “Working with the team at Animmersion to transform our reception area into an interactive and engaging space has been excellent, they really understood our brief and worked with us to achieve the end results that we’re seeing today.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Anna Addison Associates .