Space race! Borough Council offers R&D boost for satellite and F1 firm

A cutting-edge Erewash company that manufactures ultra high-tech carbon and glass fibre components for satellites and Formula 1 teams is one of the latest local success stories to be awarded an innovation grant from the borough council.

Atlas Composite Technologies is a key contractor in the aerospace, automotive and motorsport industries. The llkeston firm specialises in the production of interior and exterior components for prestige car manufacturers and F1 teams.

The company recently started work on a venture that it hopes will hit the right note with musicians – a revolutionary lightweight vertical grand PIANO.

Senior project engineer Roger Elliott said after the company teamed up with First Light Pianos: “We’ve dived into collaborative R&D, exploring new frontiers in design analysis, material science and structural innovation.” The firm is based at Peregrine House on Ilkeston’s Quarry Hill Industrial Estate. It employs more than 100 workers at two sites in the Derbyshire area.

The £20,000 awarded by Erewash council will be used to monitor energy usage – to reduce consumption within the factory and to enhance the working environment for staff. 

Senior project engineer Roger said: “Erewash Borough Council’s support for this project has given Atlas an incredible opportunity to use new technology to help improve our production facilities.” 

R&D funding from the authority uses money from the Government to boost entrepreneurship and jobs across the borough. Details can be found at Research and Development Grant | Erewash Borough Council. 

Another firm to win one of the grants is based in Little Eaton.

Family-run MW Polymers is a market leader in industrial sealants, coatings and adhesives. It specialises in emergency pipeline repairs – providing permanent fixes to gas and water mains. The company has worked on pipelines in the US and Poland – and last year got an SOS from Nottingham’s National Ice Centre about corroding pipes leaking refrigerant. Its engineers “swiftly restored the facility to full functionality” – which was good news for the Nottingham Panthers ice hockey team.

The firm successfully applied to the council for £17,600 to help it research “water repellent composite clamps for repairing pipes”.

Two other R&D grant recipients are based in Long Eaton. Advanced IT Services is one of the largest school computer system specialists in the East Midlands. It has received £13,946 to expand “3D scanning and printing services for commercial sectors”.

Meanwhile LJM Solutions Ltd – a renewable energy company that has been operating for 25 years – has been awarded £20,000. It specialises in solar panels and electric vehicle charging. The funding is for “solar consumer board prototype development”.

Cllr Curtis Howard, who is Erewash’s Lead Member for Town Centres, Regeneration and Planning, said: “Our R&D grants are helping to secure jobs across the borough and to create new ones. Companies like the four latest to receive funding are just a snapshot of the many local success stories that we are keen to back.”