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UWI Technology Ltd was set up in 2009 to develop a patent pending elapsed time indicator (ETI) known as the UWI Label.  Inventor Pete Higgins came up with the idea of a smart label which would indicate how long any jar had been opened for and, therefore, whether or not the food inside had gone off.

Challenge

The company was looking to establish a collaborative project with an academic group to help advance the technology of the label and develop its commercial potential, ultimately providing a working demonstration of the UWI label for investors.

Solution

Through Interface, UWI was introduced to Heriot-Watt University, who had renowned expertise in micro-engineering and colour chemistry.

Besides having the huge potential to be an effective consumer food waste reduction solution, it was soon realised that the idea had significant global applications such as the pharmaceutical industry, medical science and aeronautical manufacturing.  The collaboration received Scottish Funding Council Innovation Voucher funding, followed by further funding support from the EDTC/Product Realisation Centre Scheme for expanding the work to meet additional commercial demand.

Benefits

Company update 2021

Please note that Interface administers the Innovation Voucher Scheme on behalf of the Scottish Funding Council. All funding applications are reviewed on a case by case basis by the Scottish Funding Council, guidelines can be found here.

Aqualife Services, based in Stirling, is the largest dedicated fish vaccination company in the world.

Business Challenge

Aqualife recognised the need to address issues with the current vaccination process which can lead to repetitive strain amongst staff and limited accuracy in vaccinating the fish.

Solution

Interface facilitated a partnership between Aqualife and the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) and a project looking at design options for a new vaccination gun was funded through the UWS Inspired Scheme.   It soon became evident that a much bigger project was evolving looking at the whole fish handling process.  Aqualife have embarked on a two year £100k Knowledge Transfer Partnership with UWS to develop the ideas.

Edinburgh based 442 Design is a brand and interior design company that works with a wide range of companies including BAA, Tesco and PropInvest.  Specialist areas include: interior and graphic design, large format print graphics and signage; rebranding and interior design work in new premises and offices; with a focus on brand identity.

Challenge

The company was interested in expanding its focus from retail interior space to developing external promotions and point of sale showcase units for pedestrian precincts.  The new product design involved creating glass units to showcase products from nearby shops eg. clothes, books, accessories etc. and include touch pads to allow potential customers find out more about the products and encourage them into the stores.

Aimed at driving increased footfall and spend, the product is intended to be a highly engineered, large glass display case which is used for promotion. It will use solar energy to charge the display lighting and is intended for use in outdoor environments. The customer benefits include lower installation and power supply costs, reduced carbon emissions and clear environmental responsibility profile.

442 Design sought to power these small showcase units by solar energy, however to branch out into this, the company required an investigative study to provide recommendations on energy requirements, size, cost and design. For this they looked to find the relevant expertise within Scottish Universities.

Solution

The company was referred by The University of Edinburgh to Interface – The knowledge connection for business, which brokered links to Professor Tariq Muneer from the School of the Built Environment at Edinburgh Napier University.  The relationship developed and the feasibility study yielded beneficial results identifying initial target cities and clients. 

Interface also supported the company in identifying a source of finance to offset some of the costs – feasibility funding under the Scottish Government supported SEEKIT programme (EDTC) hosted by Edinburgh Napier University.

Professor Muneer calculated the energy and carbon emissions saved by lighting the pod using solar rather than conventional energy. This is crucial information for customers as corporate responsibility is increasingly important.

Professor Muneer comments: “The commissioning and completion of this project is a good demonstration of the three-way collaborative links – industry, the academic world and Interface, who acted as the matchmaker. Quite often research work carried out by universities resides only within the campuses or in academic journals. Through organisations such as Interface, application of the above research work can achieve its flowering.”

“The glass ‘buypod’ units have been hugely successful and this adaption of the product into being run on solar energy is a very exciting development” said Laurence Smith, Project Director at 442 Design. 442 Design is familiar within the proven components of the glass pod but unfamiliar with the potential capability of solar technology, where the links with Edinburgh Napier University have provided invaluable assistance. 

Looking ahead, Professor Muneer will compile a detailed report on light/lux levels at various locations, and will take lighting specification for the pod and advise on variances in hourly levels of solar energy required to light the pod throughout the year. This information is vital to customers to enable maximum impact throughout the year.  Corporate social responsibility is important to 442 Design, and energy and carbon emissions saved will be assessed.

The Benefits

Both bodies benefited through this new partnership.  Working with Scottish Enterprise innovation advisor, Jim Shields they are now identifying scope for further activity in prototype design  and are investigating their eligibility for R&D/innovation grants.

Find out more about 442 Design here.

Emtelle is the global leader in ducted network solutions and air blown fibre solutions. It produces small, lightweight and robust underground cabling systems, pioneering the next generation of broadband network solutions for FttH (Fibre-To-The-Home)

Recent communications contracts have included cabling the communications infrastructure to 7600 homes in Nuenen, in The Netherlands and for the Olympic Village in Athens in 2004.

The Business Challenge

A particular problem of underground cable management is the presence of water and moisture in the tubing which houses the fibre optic cables and Emtelle’s R&D team in Hawick has been looking to develop the next generation of polyethylene tubing with a greatly reduced water permeability rate. To do this, Emtelle required a recognised specialist working in the area of semi-permeable membrane technology.

“One of my colleagues had been sent a leaflet about Interface and the benefits for us were immediately apparent. We required a specific expertise and, based on our criteria, we contacted Interface who put us in touch with the School of Engineering at Glasgow Caledonian University,

Interface was the ideal catalyst in helping bring both parties together. Having previously worked with Heriot-Watt and Napier Universities on knowledge transfer partnership projects, we were aware that the external expertise we required probably existed within academia, but crucially, needed to find ways of uncovering the correct academic partner for this very distinct engineering project.” commented Phil Clayton, technical manager of Emtelle

The Solution

Interface identified that this area of expertise was available through The Glasgow Caledonian University’s School of Engineering and more specifically the Centre for Research on Indoor Climate and Health.

The centre’s Chris Sanders takes up the story.

“The contact that Interface made for us with Emtelle led to an interesting series of discussions and allowed us to develop a relationship with a new industry sector This enabled us to bring our expertise on moisture transport into a novel field.  Interface plays a very valuable role in establishing contacts between specialised University groups and industrial organisations working in areas outside their usual field.”

A short-term consultancy project was agreed, enabling Emtelle to begin developing a superior product with ultra low water permeation rates. In short, Interface gave Emtelle access to knowledge outside the core expertise of its business that helped it onto the next stage of our product development cycle.

Phil Clayton added, “I believe that Interface is the perfect ‘trouble-shooter’. I would urge more companies and businesses to look closely at Interface to help cement the bond between academic talent and companies looking to further their product development. It really is a great opportunity to have Interface at your disposal.

The relationship made between universities and organisations have an important role to play particularly where complex problems and issues have to be resolved.”

Click here for more information on Emtelle.

Martin Energy Limited was established in 2004 to develop novel ways to reduce energy costs and improve the environmental performance of the electricity industry. The company has recently re-branded and is now known as Flexitricty.

The Business Challenge

Flexitricty is, in effect, a “virtual” power station – a low carbon resource of reserve electricity which supports the National Grid by running generators and reducing consumption when the national electricity system is under stress. Due to the nature of the business, it operates on a 24/7 basis.

Partners

The company prides itself on being a ‘knowledge business’ and places great importance on its highly qualified and experienced staff, so working with university academics is central to the company’s growth strategy as Flexitricity’s managing director, Alastair Martin, explains.

“We had researched all the various government-backed schemes, grant aided assistance and other options to engage the services of a university partner to help our research and develop plans, but the complexities of unravelling the most appropriate scheme and the most suitable university to work with was time consuming. However, when we met with the Interface team through a contact at Scottish Enterprise, we knew from the initial conversations that they could distil this to meet our requirements.”

The Solution

Interface – The knowledge connection for business helped broker collaborative links with two academics from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Engineering and Electronics, Dr Dimitri Mignard and Professor Dr Gareth Harrison.

The collaboration is working well. Flexitricity was successfully awarded a two year Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) to explore ‘the supply and demand balancing in the National Electricity System and has now employed a KTP Associate to fulfill the terms of the KTP agreement.

Alastair adds; “I worked for large power generation operators for a number of years and more specifically high energy fossil fuel generators. I soon realised that it was possible you can have efficiency within an electricity generation plant, but that is often at the expense of flexibility. It would appear you cannot have both. However on the energy consumption side, there is a lot of flexibility with no efficiency penalties, so Flexitricty was borne out of the potential to harness this.

I realised that what was needed was as an efficient way of managing the process as a real time operational system and that’s precisely what we have done with Flexitricity”.

Dr Gareth Harrison comments;

“We are now working our way through the KTP in collaboration with Flexitricity and I’m delighted to say the synergy within this partnership between Flexitricity and ourselves is very complimentary. The academic capability within the university’s energy and engineering departments are looking at ways of developing new systems with Flexitricity which will help enhance the efficiency of matching electrical consumption to the supply/demand balance.”

Follow-On Activity

Flexitricity are currently (March 2019) involved in the Smart Hubs demonstrator project which will also use vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology to enable cars to deliver electricity back to the smart grid.  The project, which will look at integrating “various battery storage options”, would allow large numbers of electric vehicles to be charged without placing further pressure on an already-constrained grid. 

One of the UK’s leading salt traders, Peacock Salt, turned to Scotland’s academic sector to help in the technical challenge of designing a new, natural, green and economically viable method to make (sea) salt domestically.

Initially a shipping company, J C Peacock & Co Ltd is a small family business based in Ayr, which was established in 1874, evolving into a salt trading firm. Peacock salts are used for general de-icing and water softening properties as well as for industrial use in the food, agriculture, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

Keen to investigate salt production in Scotland, the company met with Interface – the knowledge connection for business – to help source an academic partner that could provide the right mix of experience required for the project. 

With help from Interface, Peacock Salt was able to connect with Dr Carl Schaschke from the University of Strathclyde’s Department of Chemical and Process Engineering.  Dr Schaschke had experience with natural salt production methods, such as purification of brine from volcanic craters and solar evaporation.

The Business Challenge

Earlier methods of making salt in Scotland were uneconomical; therefore Peacock was keen to lead the way in developing a new, industry-leading method.  Ultimately, they envisaged a new salt production plant being built – similar to innovative new plants in other parts of the world, such as Bad Salzuflen in Germany.

The main challenge in production terms was turning sea water (ca. 3% saline solution) into a concentrated solution of ca. 26%, which is when salt crystals start to drop out of solution.  The quality of the crystals is affected by the latter stages of the evaporation procedure. 

Peacock Salt offers the largest variety of salts available in the UK.  With over 6,000 customers, the company’s range includes salts from around the world such as Rock, Sea and Manufactured salts. 

Peacock Salt’s operations manager, Gregorie Marshall, was keen that the process used as natural a method as possible:  “Ideally we wanted to develop a salt production process that used green energy, where little additional input of heat and electricity is required, while also developing a new plant which itself would become a tourist attraction.

“We needed expertise in the areas of chemistry, chemical technology, chemical or process engineering to carry out research which would investigate and design the most suitable method of producing salt in Scotland. We also wanted to identify and analyse suitable sites using geographical and meteorological data.” 

Three universities came forward as potential partners for the project but ultimately, Peacock Salt chose to move forward with Strathclyde as Dr Schaschke had direct experience in salt production.

Initial discussions were leaning towards taking the project on as a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), however it was decided that an initial financial feasibility study was required before progressing the KTP.  

The Solution

Peacock Salt was introduced to Carrie Shaw from the Strathclyde Links project, who was able to assist the firm source funding for the feasibility study, which was completed by Professor John Finch, of the University of Strathclyde Business School’s Department of Marketing.

Professor Finch, working with PhD student Emma Reid, provided Peacock Salt with a market/business viability report that provided in-depth analysis of the market for a sea salt produced at a facility in Scotland, including developing business scenarios in order to assess product positioning, price and current competitors in the market place.

A KTP to investigate a Scottish salt production facility took place in 2011.

Follow On activity

Following this successful project, Peacock Salt got back in touch with Interface to seek an academic partner to develop chemical brine which would allow them to extend their current offering of liquid de-icer.

This required the development of an additive that lowers the freezing point of the brine, and therefore the working temperature of the de-icer, without having any detrimental impact on the handling of the material. The additive would also enhance the salt or brine’s ability to adhere to the surface it has been applied to, offering a longer residual effect whilst not impairing the de-icing capabilities.

Interface successfully matched Peacock with Dr Mohammed Yaseen and Professor Andrew Hursthouse from the University of the West of Scotland to lead on this project. The team investigated the additives that can be applied to de-icers and examined performance improvements such as freeze-point suppression, reduced environmental impact and increased residual effect.

As a result, this would deliver an enhanced product offering for the business in the relatively innovation-free winter maintenance market. It will also have a positive impact on the business operating in the UK and potentially open up new market opportunities further field.

In addition, Peacock Salt is currently working on another collaboration project facilitated by Interface. 

As a key supplier of de-icing salt and winter equipment to local authorities, businesses and private individuals, Peacock Salt were keen to tackle another industry challenge. During winter, de-icer salt is spread on the roads every day when the weather conditions dictate, mostly when the temperature is predicted to be below a certain level. When spreading for multiple days no account is taken as to how much de-icer salt is left on the road.

The company was keen to develop an innovative method to measure the amount of di-icer salt on the road as the vehicle moves along, so it can be determined whether any more de-icer salt is required. Additionally, they wanted to develop a method of reporting this information back to the vehicle driver/equipment to enable them to alter the spread rate of de-icer.

Interface successfully matched Peacock Salt with Professor David Flynn from Heriot-Watt University, School of Engineering & Physical Sciences, to draw on his experience in research and knowledge exchange and guide the project. The project is funded by the Scottish Funding Council Follow-On Voucher, administered by Interface.

Gill Orde in Catering Ltd, based in Kelso, in the heart of the Scottish Borders, has crafted an enviable reputation providing friendly, bespoke and indulgent catering throughout Southern Scotland and Northern England. Using the very best of local and seasonal produce from the Borders region the team of talented staff can provide either wholesome or decadent award winning cuisine.

The company founder, Gill, arrived in the UK some 40 years ago when her love of cooking took her to the Cordon Bleu School of Cookery London.  The skills learned there and the dedication shown through her career in London and Edinburgh are distilled into the high standards of quality and service she garners from her team in the Borders.

The Business Challenge

Interface met with Justin Orde at the Scottish Enterprise Winning Through Innovation event in 2009.  A follow-up meeting was arranged to discuss possible support that could be offered for the development of their innovative online software programme which fulfills the requirements for a documented food safety management system.

Gill Orde in Catering Ltd had recently set up a joint venture with Deepserver Partnership (a trio of web developers) and together were developing an IT solution aimed at relieving some of the administrative burden of adhering to European food legislation. If proven, this software could potentially be rolled out across the UK and beyond.

The Solution

Having established the specific requirements, the Interface team identified five different Scottish academic research groups who could assist in the development.

Initial discussions were held with the University of Strathclyde’s Dr Raymond Wong and Dr Tara Beattie of the Department of Civil Engineering, who after meeting with the company to establish their needs, pulled together a research proposal and funding applications.

The Benefits

The University of Strathclyde’s Engineering Faculty has recently awarded a three year PhD Scholarship to Neil Pratt, a graduate of the Civil Engineering department’s MSc in Environmental Health, to carry out a research project in conjunction with Gill Orde in Catering.

The team have also been successful in their application for funding to the Strathclyde Links project for top-up funding during the first year of the PhD. This would allow Neil to dedicate a significant proportion of his time to meeting the company’s requirements.

The partnership provides an innovative way for Neil and the supervising academics to carry out industrially relevant research whilst also meeting the needs of the company in both the short and longer term.

The name Kodak has been synonymous with the pioneering days of photography from as far back as the late 19th century. Since these early days, the company has remained a global brand leader, ranking as one of the leading multinational corporations, recognised in virtually every country around the world.

Much of Kodak’s recent success has been achieved by embracing the revolution in consumer technology and particularly, the move away from ‘traditional’ print photography to the huge global surge in digital photography of the late 1990’s.

The Business Challenge

Kodak, however, is more than a photographic and imaging consumer brand. To maintain its market-leader position, it has to continually adapt to change – researching and developing products and services ready to anticipate the next digital technology phase.

To underline this, Kodak has a very active global research and development community. In the UK, Kodak’s European Research Centre, based in the Cambridge Science Park, employs up to 30 people. It collaborates closely with the renowned Eastman Kodak laboratories in Rochester, New York, helping researchers identify new technologies that serve the needs for a diverse and increasingly digital European market in optoelectronics, materials research and imaging software.

Kodak’s European Research Centre has a key role, ensuring the company maintains market prominence in areas such as digital imaging, display technology and healthcare. And with innovation vital to sustaining commercial success, Kodak External Alliances (KEA), the body created to establish external working partnerships, is fuelling Kodak’s technology drive by building strategic relationships with universities, government laboratories and privately-held companies. This supports Kodak’s digitally-focused growth strategy by leveraging technology and intellectual property opportunities.

Currently, KEA is  involved in six UK Government funded (DTI programmes) and 2 EU Framework programmes and are always interested in exploring other opportunities relevant to their requirements.

Recently, Kodak has been working with Interface – The knowledge connection for business, to understand the expertise available to them within Scottish Universities and research institutes in specific technological areas – Digital Media and Systems (includes images, videos and audio), information management systems, Printing Technologies and Emerging Materials Technologies.

The Solution

Interface identified a number of potential partners – leading research groups in Scotland across the four areas which were of interest to the KEA team. Interface organised and supported Kodak during its subsequent visit to Scotland to meet with the key academic groups that were identified. The Interface team liaised with Kodak team members and academic partners to ensure meetings were set up and introductions brokered.

The Benefits

As a direct result of the meetings with the academic groups, two formal collaborations were established with separate groups at the University of Glasgow. The first of which is with Matthew Chalmers, a Reader in Computer Science. His work aims to take account of social and perceptual issues in the design and theory of computer systems. A collaborative research project with Kodak was established to investigate methods to better view images.

A further collaboration was established with Dr Joemon Jose, who is also a Reader at the Department of Computing Science, University of Glasgow. Joemon’s research focuses on all aspects of information retrieval (theory, experimentation, evaluation and applications) in the textual and multimedia domain. Following on the success of the initial consultancy, the group is exploring other options of continuing collaboration including the support of a PhD student.

Dr Chris Moore, Director of Kodak External Alliances commented;

“Kodak’s European Research Centre is responsible for identifying unique science and technology and discovering new opportunities that serve the needs of the diverse and increasingly digital European markets.

Establishing collaborative partnerships through consultancy and studentships ensures that Kodak continues to be a world leader in developing the most technologically advanced and customer friendly imaging products. Working with Interface has allowed us to establish relevant capability within Scottish Universities in our areas of interest from image science to information systems.”

Dr Siobhan Jordan, director of Interface commented;

“The complexities helping develop a new range of digital process and applications with Kodak’s research teams are a testament to the superb capability within University of Glasgow’s Computing Science faculty which we identified on Kodak’s behalf. In the past ten years, we have seen an expediential growth in digital technology and Kodak’s vision to research and develop future opportunities in Scotland has to be applauded.”

With a reputation spanning over 100 years, East Kilbride based Mentholatum are a recognised leader in the sale of Topical Pain Relief products.

The Business Challenge

Looking to diversify into the skincare market the company had developed a new range of skincare cosmetic products based on novel ingredients for the treatment of acne. Requiring academic analysis to be carried out on their range before they could be taken to market, the company was referred to Interface by Scottish Enterprise. They needed to gauge performance and efficacy in the key areas of:

The Solution

Following a full search of the academic base in Scotland, Interface introduced the company to Dr Richard Weller at the University of Edinburgh, who had relevant industry experience.
Leading the eight week clinical protocol study on the OXY range, Dr Weller conducted a full analysis report and published a white paper on the results, both of which have proven invaluable to Metholatum.

As Colin Brown, Director of Research and Quality Development at the company explains:

The introduction from Interface to the University of Edinburgh has been invaluable for the launch of our Oxy range for the spot prone skin market. The increased credibility we have received from working with the University and with Dr Weller has also improved our opportunities to gain increased  market share in the healthcare/personal care market.

The collaboration was also beneficial to the University in terms of highlighting the scope of their research to the wider business world, as Dr Weller comments:

The Mentholatum consultancy work has been very successful. We conducted a full clinical trial of its anti-spot products. To date, this work has gained considerable interest in two major British dermatology journals, and I suspect it will gain additional favourable media attention.

Creating Sustained Relationships

So successful has this collaboration been that Mentholatum see the partnership of University and business as filled with potential for future projects. Colin explains further:

This initial introduction has opened many doors within the University and also the wider Scottish academic network. We envisage this partnership with the University of Edinburgh as being long term and see many mutual benefits from working together.

2016

Since this initial project for their OXY skincare range, the company have funded a three year SUPA (Scottish Universities Physics Alliance) PhD studentship which investigated the application of Magnetic Resonance Elastography.

They have also sponsored a second PhD studentship through SINAPSE, a consortium of six of Scotland’s top universities’ medical imaging groups, including the University of Stirling and the University of Dundee.
This Scottish imaging network is at the forefront of research in the field of brain imaging.

Looking to the future,  Mentholatum is now collaborating with the Department of Physics at the University of Edinburgh on a project which will support the measurement of the rheological properties of its products.