This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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£9.5 million for Scotland's innovative firms
16/06/2003
A record number of SMART:SCOTLAND Awards with a
potential value of £9.5 million were presented today at the
annual SMART Awards ceremony.
The SMART awards are designed to help new and existing
small businesses, with less than 50 employees, gain a
competitive edge in the market by funding the development
of innovative and commercially viable products and
processes
Forty seven small companies are sharing up to £9.5
million to help them develop new products.
Speaking at the awards ceremony for the 2002 winners
Enterprise Minister Jim Wallace said:
"At this event last year a record 42 SMART Awards were
presented. Today, I am very pleased to announce that this
record has once again been broken.
"This underlines the Scottish Executive's commitment to
continuing to provide a highly effective pipeline of
support - to transform our brightest innovations into
successful business opportunities."
In addition to congratulating last year's successful
entrants, Mr Wallace announced the first round of
SMART:SCOTLAND winners for 2003. Twelve winners will
receive a combined total of £540,000 to undertake technical
feasibility studies.
The Minister added: "The Executive's recently announced
Partnership for a Better Scotland placed economic growth as
our top priority. It sets out a vision for a Scotland where
enterprise can flourish. We must promote an entrepreneurial
culture and recognise the need to support risk-taking as a
means of growing the economy.
"Many of Scotland's small firms are already competing
successfully on a global basis by developing truly
world-beating technology. We are proud of these
achievements and I am confident that today's SMART winners
will have the potential to emulate their success."
There are three rounds of judging each year for SMART:
SCOTLAND with closing dates for applications in January,
May and September. The 2002 winners were announced on June
25, 2002 (Round 1), August 20, 2002 (Round 2) and January
27, 2003 (Round 3).
Entries for SMART:SCOTLAND can be submitted by
individuals planning to start a business in Scotland, and
by existing small firms/groups with less than 50 employees.
Applicants should have either an annual turnover not
exceeding 7 million Euros (approx £4.24 million) or a
balance sheet total not exceeding 5 million Euros (approx
£3.03 million).
The Government meets 75 per cent of the project costs
and the maximum award payable under SMART:SCOTLAND has
recently been raised to £50,000 with an up-front payment of
a third of this amount. Projects normally last between six
and 18 months.
Winners who successfully complete their projects and
require additional assistance to develop a pre-production
prototype can apply for further funding under the
non-competitive SPUR scheme.
The SMART, SPUR and SPUR Plus Programmes were recently
revised to address the main recommendations from
independent evaluations and an extensive consultation
exercise. The evaluations found the scheme to be very
effective in encouraging nationally significant innovation
and an important catalyst in levering private investment to
high-tech companies.
The 12 winning projects in the 2003 Round 1
SMART:SCOTLAND Competition are:
Brinker Technology Ltd, Aberdeen
New Technology for Leak Detection and Sealing in
Pipelines
2. Alpha Data Parallel Systems Ltd,
Edinburgh
Development of a FPGA Partial Re-configuration
Platform
4i2i Communications Ltd, Aberdeen
Development of an ADSL Powerline Router IP Core
Smartscope MD Ltd, Edinburgh
Development of Medical Imaging Technology
Haptogen Ltd, Aberdeen
Novel Agents for the Treatment of Obesity and CNS
Disease
Sciencesoft Ltd, Motherwell
History Matching Using Streamline Simulators
Predictions Software Ltd, Edinburgh
New Automated Integrated Circuit Layout Yield
Enhancer
Plenoptics, Edinburgh
Photogrammetry Technology in 3D Tools for Rapid Creation
of Realistic Models
LUTESS Ltd, Edinburgh
Development of a New High Throughput Screening
Technology, InLit
TM, for Anti-fungal Drug Discovery
Exterity Ltd,
Synchronisation of AV Media Streams Distributed over IP
Networks
Cult Hill Innovation Ltd, Dollar
Development of a New Operations Support Software Builder
for Telecommunications
Virtual Clones Ltd, Glasgow
3D Capture of Animated Virtual Characters
The 47 winning projects in the 2002
SMART:SCOTLAND Competition are:
INDUSTRY
1. Advanced Biometric Systems Ltd, Greenock
2. Applied Photonic Sensors Ltd,
Alness
3. Aros Developments Ltd, Inverness
4. Beat Systems Ltd, Glasgow
5. Deep Life Ltd, Orkney
6. DRIFTCO Ltd, Aberdeen
7. D-TACQ Solutions Ltd, East Kilbride
8. Envirogene Systems Ltd, Helensburgh
9. Fluid Transfer Technology Ltd,
Aberdeen
10. Fortkey Ltd, Gladsmuir (East
Lothian)
- Halpin Innovation Ltd, Melrose
12. Highland Geology Ltd, Helensburgh
13. hydrosense Ltd, Linlithgow
14. Macom Technologies (UK) Ltd,
Paisley
15. Maxiba Ltd, Glasgow
16. Nexus TSP Ltd, Aberdeen
17. PetroData Ltd, Aberdeen
18. purple patch wireless ltd, East
Kilbride
19. ReGenTech Ltd, Ellon
20. Salent Technologies Ltd,
Linlithgow
21. SERVENORTH Ltd, Wormit (Fife)
22. TeleIT Ltd, Glasgow
23. terraVista Ltd, Isle of Lewis
24. TROYANYS Ltd, Peebles
25. Virtual-Mirrors Ltd, Bathgate
SCIENCE BASE
26. AXIOPE Ltd, Edinburgh
27. BIOPTA Ltd, Glasgow
28. Calico Jack Ltd, Cupar (Fife)
29. Critical Blue Ltd, Edinburgh
30. DEM Solutions Ltd, Edinburgh
31. Environmental Building Partnership Ltd,
Aberdeen
32. IceRobotics Ltd, Edinburgh
33. I D & M Ltd, Dundee
- Ingenza Ltd, Edinburgh
35. IRIS-3D Ltd, Glasgow
36. Kelvin Connect Ltd, Glasgow
37. LinearB Ltd, Edinburgh
38. LUX Biotechnology Ltd, Edinburgh
39. MicroStencil Ltd, Edinburgh
- PhotoSynergy Ltd, Dundee
41. PyrroNostics Ltd, Aberdeen
42. Renewable Devices Ltd, Edinburgh
43. SeeByte Ltd, Edinburgh
44. Simulistics Ltd, Edinburgh
45. STAR-Dundee Ltd, Dundee
46. Stem Cell Sciences (UK) Ltd,
Edinburgh
47. Thin Film Innovations Ltd,
Coatbridge