Bicester engineering consultancy secures funding for Silverstone digital manufacturing centre

Published by

Nicky Godding

Funding has been secured for a new Digital Manufacturing Centre at Silverstone Park, that is forecast to generate £9 million additional economic value for the area. The project is led by Bicester-based high-performance engineering consultancy KW Special Projects which secured funding from the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP) for the 1,657 sqm facility.

The centre will act as a technology innovation hub, providing on-site access to digital manufacturing facilities including a range of additive manufacturing technologies while also allowing SMEs to access knowledge and advice by encouraging an eco-system in digital manufacturing. High-quality incubation and manufacturing space suitable for high-performance technology start-ups are also benefits of the new facility.

The innovation centre is expected to help develop new and high-value engineering opportunities and assist over 100 SMEs, while also forecast to contribute £9 million gross value added to the region.

“Having grown from a motorsport background, it’s exciting to be able to help drive the latest technology projects across multiple industries, right here at Silverstone,” said Kieron Salter, Managing Director at KWSP. “Our goal is to create a hub of engineering innovation that sees the best and most creative minds working side by side to develop the technologies of tomorrow. This is a vision facilitated by SEMLEP, who has been instrumental in securing our funding through its Local Growth Fund, supporting businesses like KWSP in transforming visions into reality.”

The KWSP Digital Manufacturing Centre is an example of the recent priorities announced by SEMLEP through its Local Industrial Strategy. The facility will enhance the knowledge sharing capabilities of the Silverstone Technology area – encouraging the growth and commercialisation of innovation, while promoting high-tech development and high-value specialisms.

Minister of State for Local Growth, the Rt Hon Jake Berry MP said: “We’re committed to boosting economic growth across the whole of the UK and levelling up our regions. This new state-of-the-art facility made possible with £3.4 million of Local Growth Fund investment will boost the local economy to the tune of £9 million, create 50 engineering jobs and help local start-up technology businesses to grow.”

“Working with innovative businesses like KWSP to make their ideas become reality is exactly what the makes the SEMLEP area the successful place it is today. Businesses in this area remain at the cutting edge of digital technology. SEMLEP’s investment through our Local Growth Fund in the Digital Manufacturing Centre is part of our work to strengthen the South East Midland’s position as the commercialisation core of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc and deliver on the commitments made in the Local Industrial Strategy.” added,Hilary Chipping, Chief Executive SEMLEP

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.