Growth Deal will spur advanced manufacturing

A firm which is at the cutting edge of advanced materials research and design has welcomed the signing of a new £82m funding deal to boost the economy of Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire.

The Growth Deal, which was formally signed earlier this month, will enable the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire LEP to invest millions of pounds in advanced manufacturing skills, as well as bringing forward major regeneration projects across the county.

Penkhull-based advanced materials firm Lucideon has already applied for funding through Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s Innovative Growth in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire (IGISS) initiative to expand its research operation. IGISS is part of the government’s £3m Regional Growth Fund settlement agreed through this year’s city deal.

The innovative work taking place in Lucideon’s laboratories will unlock technological breakthroughs in industries as diverse as medicine, energy production, aerospace and defence.

The company is also working closely with the city council on plans to expand its research operation further with the creation of a new applied materials research and innovation centre (AMRIC) in the city, which is likely to be part-funded through the IGISS scheme.

Chief executive Tony Kinsella said that the Growth Deal will underpin the city’s ongoing economic resurgence by enabling continued investment in the advanced skills which will be crucial to the future of Stoke-on-Trent.

He said: “The signing of one of the biggest growth deals in the country for Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire is a wonderful statement of how the government views the area – as a place for investment and with a future.

“These investments we hope will be just the start, and will incentivise more private as well as public investment into our region, where we see technology as a key part of the next stage of development.”