This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
Listen
Deep Life in Orkney
06/08/2003
Orkney firm Deep Life Ltd was today recognised for their
SMART work by Deputy First Minister Jim Wallace during a
visit to the firm.
The company was awarded a grant of £45,000 by the
Executive in 2002 to help develop a safe high volume closed
loop re-breather system for scuba divers.
Currently, these breathing systems have failure modes
that can result in the death of the user. The Deep Life
invention eliminates failure points and provides total
monitoring of the breathing gases regardless of pressure or
gas components.
Following completion of the project, Mr Wallace, also
the local MSP, presented the company with a SMART Award
from the Executive.
Mr Wallace said:
"The Executive is committed to growing the Scottish
economy, and encouraging innovation in business is key to
achieving this.
"Deep Life Ltd's project is a good example of the type
of innovative projects the SMART Awards are designed to
encourage, particularly one such as this which will help
save lives.
"This award also demonstrates that there is no
contradiction between a company working on the frontline of
technological development and being based in the
islands.
"The Executive is committed to supporting technological
innovation and enterprise across Scotland, and I am
delighted to underline this by presenting this SMART Award
to Deep Life, where they are based, in Orkney.
"Last year we were pleased to announce a record of 42
SMART Award winning companies. I am delighted this year
that we have exceeded this, with 47 Awards being
presented.
"This highlights the Executive's commitment to
continuing to provide effective support to Scotland's small
businesses, and turn our best innovations into successful
business opportunities."
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 projects.
The Deputy First Minister announced details of all SMART
Award winners on June 16, 2003 at an award ceremony in
Glasgow.
Deep Life Ltd is a management buy-out from the
Orkney-based European Technical Dive Centre. The buy-out
occurred to allow the development of this project.
For further details on Deep Life contact Mark Reeves,
Vice President Marketing & Sales, on 01856 731500.