News

FIVE YEARS OF HETHEL ENGINEERING CENTRE

31 May 2011

What we've achieved has been good, but we have to go up a gear now.

Five years have passed since Hethel Engineering Centre was created from a patch of Norfolk farmland with the help of £5m from the East of England Development Agency, Lotus and Norfolk County and South Norfolk councils. 
 
It was intended to provide a shot in the arm for the region by acting as an incubator for engineering and technology firms, offering modern office and workshop facilities but also business advice and an entrepreneurial atmosphere. 
 
It filled up quickly and last year it opened a new £2.1m extension that created another 12 units for rent. 
 
But how well has it performed since then, and is it managing to survive the economic downturn? 
 
The management team estimate that since it opened its doors in March 2006 it has brought £10m into the local economy, created new jobs and launched dozens of companies which remain based in East Anglia. 
 
The collection of companies based on site have brought in an average of £250,000 in turnover each year - and it is estimated that at least half that has been spent on local labour and suppliers. 
 
There have been 53 new companies founded within the centre, and only two of these have ever failed. 
 
In the first three years respectively there were four, 10 and nine start ups - but not a single firm went out of business in those first three years. 
 
As well as this there have been 27 businesses based at Hethel Engineering Centre which have grown to the point where they decided to leave, find their own premises and expand further. 
 
And in the past two years alone the centre has been home to ten of the companies listed in the EDP's Future 50 supplement. 
 
It is estimated that 44 jobs were created in the first year, and that a total of 153 jobs have been created in it's short history. 
 
One firm based at Hethel is Syrinix, which was a spin-off company from a UEA research project into using computer algorithms to detect leaks in water mains. 
 
It's TrunkMinder technology monitors water trunk mains so that damaging major bursts can be avoided.  
 
The firm won the Launchpad competition in 2006 and remains at the site five years later, now preparing to commercialise its products. 
 
Managing director James Dunning said renting space at Hethel was not the cheapest option and that the firm had considered relocating in the past, but had never found anywhere with the same facilities and advantages. 
 
"Periodically we look at other premises and what you find is they're either offices or workshops," he said.  
 
"We've got our own R&D labs as well as office areas. 
 
"It's a very professional, well-presented place to work. 
 
"They also have very good support teams here. We've had guidance from them about linking up with IP specialists. You get a lot of leveraging of expertise. 
 
"Having a centre of excellence where people can leverage each other's skills is excellent. 
 
"The decision we've taken is to stay." 
 
In the last year the firm has expanded from three staff to eight, and hopes to begin growing rapidly after taking its first commercial order at the end of 2010 and completing its last round of financing by securing a £650,000 investment package. 
 
"It's a big year, this is the year we turn development into delivery," he said. 
 
In the five years since it opened many companies have come and gone, as have staff behind the scenes, such as business development manager Dr Dorian Hindmarsh, who left his position earlier this year. 
 
Simon Coward, managing director of innovation and enterprise hubs at Norfolk County Council, who oversees Hethel and EPIC in Norwich, said that the centre has had "significant success" as a catalyst for economic development in the engineering sector. 
 
"Some of the projects we're running now have partners from across the world, which is a testament to all the work that's been done." 
 
"I think Hethel's come of age and grown up into something that's got a reputation and we've got to take it on to the next level. 
 
"What we've achieved has been good, but we have to go up a gear now. 
 
"I think we're going to see Hethel develop two parts; one will be on the innovation side, supporting businesses, helping them to innovate, and the other side will be around property development. 
 
"What we're going to want to do is look at running other enterprise hubs, or creating other entities into enterprise hubs. 
 
"What we want to do is say 'we should go beyond the boundaries of Hethel', and say 'we can run enterprise hubs elsewhere in the county and the region'."

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