Get information about our TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT GRANTS and ELIGIBILITY.
» How to apply
Little things mean a lot
Posted: 12/02/2008
In some businesses the smallest things can make a big difference. And that is certainly the case for Northampton’s Nicel Precision Engineering, where they manufacture components that have to be accurate measurable in microns.
Nicel are a small precision engineering company of eight employees, specialising in motorsport and aerospace components. They already work with top names such as Cosworth Racing and Ford rally champions, M-Sport.
To help them stay ahead of the competition, Nicel Precision Engineering has invested in a Co-ordinate Measuring Machine (CMM) for the precision checking of components manufactured on their high-tech 5 axis CNC machine – making them one of only a handful of businesses able to offer this level of accuracy in the region.
Nicel’s managing director, Kevin Banks said: “We are a precision engineering company. We have never found anything we can’t do. But the new equipment means we can inspect the pieces to the ultra high level of specification needed, and that makes people more confident to use us.”
East Midlands NTI is an initiative backed by leading universities and colleges and is funded by East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). Businesses can apply for match funded grants of up to £10,000 to invest in capital equipment and enrol staff on NTI approved courses to gain advanced technology skills. To qualify for the grant staff at Nicel took a four day intensive training course, adding to the skills needed to make the most of their new equipment.
Kevin added: “We want to increase the knowledge our people already have and are looking to take more training in the future. This has made a massive difference to our business. We would not be as busy now if we had not had the NTI grant to help us buy the equipment now, and it has made us even more competitive due to the fact that complex and laborious inspection tasks can be carried out in a fraction of the original time.”
James Powell of the East Midlands NTI High Performance Engineering Network said: "Nicel Precision is an example of a small specialist precision engineering company looking to the future by investing in new technology. Kevin Banks realised that to stay ahead of the competition he needed to have greater control over quality and enhance capability, and through the NTI we have enabled both to happen. 2008 should see the company continue to grow by wining more specialist machining work"
NTI network advisor
To find out more and to get help with your grant application contact:
-
Grants are no longer available
-
-
Creative industries network members