A manufacturer of naval technical equipment – and D2N2 grant recipient – won a prestigious Innovation Award at the annual Marine Propulsion Conference in London.
Coldharbour Marine Ltd won the award for its approach to a problem that has plagued mariners the world over for years. This comes after their recent £1.5 million expansion of existing facilities, part funded by D2N2 – the Local Enterprise Partnership for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.
The firm in Linby, Nottinghamshire, was one of several businesses to benefit from D2N2’s Unlocking Investment for Growth (UI4G) grant programme. This was a programme set up to help businesses bridge funding gaps for expansions which would create jobs. It is expected that the recent expansion at Coldharbour Marine Ltd will create 100 jobs this year (2015).
Coldharbour Marine’s Linby Site
The Innovation Award was given to Coldharbour for its approach to tackling what the United Nations Maritime Organisation identify as one of the top three problems to the world’s oceans. Ballast water is used to keep ships balanced and when transporting quantities of it around the world and can pose a risk to human health and ocean infrastructure, owing to the introduction of different plants and life forms into delicate ecosystems.
Coldharbour approached this problem five years ago and researched the needs of mariners before developing a system which treats the water whilst it is transported between ports.
Andrew Marshall, Chief Executive of Coldharbour Marine Ltd said:
“This award is a testament to five years of thought, debate, problem solving and testing; frankly a recognition of the engineering excellence of the Coldharbour team. The introduction of the IMO Ballast Water Management Regulations encouraged us to start a major recruitment drive.
“We are expanding our business in the East Midlands and attracting expert engineers and scientists to our team. Our attitude to innovation has not stopped and we have other exciting projects in the pipeline. I hope this award is the first of many.”
Unlocking Investment for Growth (UI4G) is funded by the UK’s Regional Growth Fund and the European Regional Development Fund. UI4G grant awards are given by the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership‘s Investment Panel, chaired by Peter Gadsby. The aim of the fund is to create long term sustainable jobs.
UI4G is now fully committed and is no longer accepting applications. Grants already approved will create over 400 new jobs and safeguard a further 350 existing jobs. The programme has inspired business owners in the D2N2 area to invest over £20million, alongside the grant support of £4.7million, to grow their businesses. The programme is managed for D2N2 by EMB Ltd.
For more information on this article or D2N2’s work contact Sean Kirby, D2N2 Communications Officer, on 0115 9578749 or email: sean.kirby@d2n2lep.org
For more information about the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, click below
D2N2 – Derby Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire LEP
For more information about Coldharbour Marine Ltd and its work, click below
