A Derby company who are one of the world’s leading scientific test laboratories for honey has secured a £200,000 grant and loan support package from Derby Enterprise Growth Fund (DEGF).
Minerva Scientific are now forging ahead with plans to double the size of their business premises in Spondon – creating further laboratory, staff facilities and storage space. This will give them the capacity to expand their customer base and recruit around a further twelve staff over the next three years.
The company has received a £147,000 grant and £53,000 loan from the £20 million DEGF which is supported by the Government’s Regional Growth Fund and run by Derby City Council. DEGF aims to support the growth and job creation at businesses in Derby and the travel to work area through a mix of loans and grants.
Minerva Scientific was established in 2001 and moved from Heanor to Spondon three years ago. It currently employs 25 full-time staff and has a turnover of over £1.5 million.
The building work, which is due to be completed by the end of the year, is part of a £735,000 investment programme by the company in new facilities and high tech laboratory testing equipment.
The company tests the quality and integrity of honey that is produced throughout the world. It also carries out analytical tests on cereals and other food raw materials as well as over the counter pharmaceutical products such as paracetamol and ibuprofen.
Director David Hoyland explained: “As a privately owned independent testing facility, our business is growing in all areas from food to pharmaceuticals and we needed the additional laboratory facilities to be able to grow our workforce and our business as a whole.”
“We have an excellent relationship with local universities and expect many of these new jobs to be for science graduates.”
“The sophisticated testing of honey using state of the art equipment is a particular growth area for us and we carry out work from a wide range of sources from local beekeepers to multi-national companies worldwide.
“Our role is to test the composition and purity of honey and other food commodities to ultimately ensure the quality and safety of these for consumers.”
“The support from DEGF has enabled us to accelerate our growth plans and complete the building work in one phase rather than staggering the expansion which would have caused undue disruption to our business.”
Derby City Council Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Planning, Environment and Regeneration added: “Derby is quite rightly renowned for being the UK’s number one high tech city and the expertise within Minerva Scientific is yet another reason for us having such an enviable title.”
“The growth of scientific jobs that will be ideal for the high calibre of graduates from our local universities means that this expansion is very important for the local economy.”
Applications continue to be welcomed by Derby City Council. To find out more visit: www.derby.gov.uk/degf. Alternatively call 01332 641628 or email degf@derby.gov.uk
