Facility helps grow Scottish companies

The centre will help companies graduate out of incubator units such as the Scottish Microelectronics Centre in Edinburgh and Photonix in Glasgow.

A new GBP 6 million facility that will boost Scotland's capabilities in the development of new technologies is to be built in West Lothian.

The facility will provide technology companies working within the micro and optoelectronics sector as well as the emerging nanotechnology sector with access to state of the art cleanroom facilities to help them grow their business out of incubator units without having to commit to building their own premises.

Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian will purchase and fit out the 3716m2 building at Starlaw Park in Livingston before handing over to cleanroom specialists Sematek UK, who will install bespoke cleanroom facilities and sub-let individual units to emerging technology organisations.

The facility will be able to house up to five companies and each unit will combine cleanroom space and office accommodation while there will be a shared reception area and meeting facilities.

The centre will help to meet industry demand for bigger, self-contained cleanroom environments to enable companies to graduate out of incubator units such as the Scottish Microelectronics Centre in Edinburgh and Photonix in Glasgow.

It will be the only facility of its type in Scotland and will support the growth of emerging technologies and ensure Scotland can retain some of its most promising technology companies and attract new foreign investment.

The centre is expected to create more than 50 new high-value jobs per annum while generating an additional GBP 40 million to the Scottish economy over the next 15 years.

Neil Francis, Director of Growing Business at Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian, says: "Currently, we have a situation where some companies are staying in incubator units well beyond incubation stage due to the high costs associated with establishing and running their own cleanroom environment.

This is limiting the growth of these companies while also preventing young entrepreneurial companies from accessing space at the incubator units.

This new facility will encourage a greater flow of technology businesses in Scotland, supporting their growth up to a stage where they can commit enough financial resources to building their own facility.

"The companies that will be attracted to this facility will have significant growth potential and it will ensure that we can retain these businesses in Scotland and ensure they can grow into the technology stars of the future and deliver more employment and investment opportunities for Scotland going forward".

John Roseman, Chief Executive of Sematek UK, added: "We are delighted to be working with Scottish Enterprise on this project".

"By working together we aim to provide a manageable cost of tenancy in the centre that will allow the client companies a secure and dependable environment to maintain growth and build on their current business success".

"We have designed the building around an adaptable solution and will be working with companies at an early stage to ensure the individual units are customised to their specific requirements".

"We will also be offering companies tailored assistance and technical support to help support their business needs".

Work is due to begin on-site in January and the facility is expected to be complete by May 2008.

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