Chippenham-based drug development firm Vectura today strengthened its position in the respiratory diseases treatment market with the €130m (£108m) acquisition of specialist German pharmaceutical company Activaero. Privately-owned Activaero’s proprietary smart nebuliser-based technology targets drugs at particular areas of the lung. It is currently part in seven clinical and several pre-clinical stage programmes. Vectura, which...
Tetronics International, the innovative Swindon-based developer of technology used in recycling and hazardous waste treatment, has strengthened its position in the global market by supplying a major new precious metals recovery plant in Taiwan. The firm, which has its UK base on the South Marston Industrial Estate, has completed work on the plasma recovery...
Swindon Academy, with the support of Business in the Community (BITC), is holding a pioneering event to bring together the worlds of education, industry and enterprise. The initiative, which will address the needs of both education and business, comes at a time when CBI members have commented that the economy would benefit from the...
Specialist manufacturer Fascia Graphics aims to double its turnover in just four years with the support of a Government-backed scheme for high-growth firms. The Chippenham-based firm has recruited six apprentices under the GrowthAccelerator programme, a unique service led by some of the UK’s most successful growth specialists, to spur its expansion. Fascia, a market...
Swindon-based motor lubricant brand Castrol has signed up as a partner to the Bloodhound supersonic car project which aims to set a new land speed record. To reach its target of The 1,000 mph, the Bloodhound car now being built in Bristol requires high-performance lubricants – a role Castrol has fulfilled in the past...
Further evidence of recovery among small and medium-sized West manufacturers has emerged with figures showing ‘significant’ growth over the past six months and plans for increased investment this year. The results, from the latest Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) Barometer survey, show 64% of firms increased sales in the second half of last year. At...
Swindon’s world-class expertise in micro-electronics could play a crucial role in the recently-announced Smart Cities Trade Mission to China later this year. The West of England area from Swindon to Bristol boasts the world’s second-largest cluster of micro-chip design expertise outside of California’s Silicon Valley. Many of its leading-edge firms are global players, such...
Devizes-based specialist safety harnessing firm Latchways has appointed Christopher Casey, a former partner at accountants KPMG, as a non-executive director with immediate effect. Mr Casey will replace Ian Pickering, who had indicated his intention not to stand for re-election at Latchways’ AGM to allow him to focus his time on his other activities. He...
Swindon and Wiltshire businesses will next week get a rare chance to meet trade experts from the British Embassies in the US and Canada and explore transatlantic export opportunities on a one-to-one basis. The event, at the Mercure Holland House Hotel in Bristol on Wednesday, March 5, is the latest ‘meet the expert’ event...
Production at Swindon’s BMW car plant, which makes body panels for the Mini, is to be increased significantly to supply a new factory in Holland, it was revealed this afternoon. BMW confirmed yesterday that it is to build the latest Mini model – the Hatch – at the VDL Nedcar in Born, Holland, to...
