Automotive engineers investing in new machinery with COVID-19 grant
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A precision engineering firm which produces components for automotive and motorsport clients has been awarded a grant through the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership’s new Business Resilience and Recovery Scheme.
TTV Industrial Ltd, based in Ipswich, will use the £50,000 to invest in new machinery which will allow it to design, develop and manufacture a new range of specialist parts for European clients.
Grants of between £25,000 and £50,00 are available under the scheme which has been set up by the LEP to support short-term business resilience projects and longer-term recovery and diversification projects.
Alan Crisp, managing director of TTV Industrial, said: “We are going to be spending £235,000, but getting a grant of £50,000 makes a big difference and enables us to bring our plans forward.
“Our opportunity to grow into the European market has been impacted by the current pandemic. This new equipment will allow us to build resilience and capacity to be market-ready with a new range of specialist parts. It will also give us scale-up opportunities for future growth.”
TTV Racing, a brand name of TTV Industrial Ltd, supplies components for the automotive industry, specifically, at the highest level of all forms of motor sport, exporting to clients all over the world.
A family firm which took its first order in 1989, it received initial support for its expansion plans from Babergh District Council’s economic development and planning departments.
Last year it worked with the New Anglia Growth Hub to secure a £25,000 Small Grant Scheme grant towards a £180,000 project to buy new machines and computer-aided manufacturing software to drive improvements in productivity at its Copdock base. In doing so, it became the 700th business to receive a business support grant through New Anglia Growth Hub.
Robert Turnbull was the adviser who worked with Alan and helped him put together his business case and application. Although Covid-19 restrictions mean they have not met in person, Robert is looking forward to visiting the factory and seeing the new machinery for himself.
“My favourite part of this project is that with this support and the investment he is making, he can now beat the world,” he said.
“He is creating a product that far exceeds the industry quality requirement at a market-beating price, and that not only supports growth and diversification now, but gives him the capacity and resilience to take full advantage of this as we come out of the pandemic. That is exactly what the Resilience and Recovery grant is all about.”
The Growth Hub is part of the Business Growth programme delivered by New Anglia LEP in partnership with Nwes, Menta, Suffolk Chamber of Commerce and Suffolk County Council, and part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
To find out more about the Business Resilience and Recovery Scheme, click here
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