A FIRM has secured a government grant to help develop a revolutionary new industrial cleaning system.

Technijet, based near Kirby Lonsdale, has high hopes of cleaning up in the market place with the new product and creating more jobs.

The company, which designs and manufactures high pressure wash systems for various industries, gained a five figure grant under the DTI's SMART scheme, which helps firms to develop innovative products and services.

Managing director David Macfarlane was reluctant to disclose too many details about the new system, which will be the first of its kind.

But he told Business Gazette: "It's to improve the printing quality of fabric during the printing process for the textile industry.

"It will enhance the products that we manufacture for the industry and will potentially open up the market for us. It won the SMART award on efficiency and innovation grounds."

Technijet has been working on the project as a concept for the past 12 months, and the financial assistance from the DTI will help to fund feasibility work.

"The SMART award has made the difference between doing it and not doing it," said Mr Macfarlane.

"We can't afford to put such a large amount of money into a new product without having a customer for it. This has allowed us to see whether the product is feasible.

"More important, it's allowed us to protect the innovation as it covers the cost of patent application and searches which has been done. It will protect our intellectual property rights which can be an extremely expensive process."

Technijet plans to launch the product at a major international trade exhibition for the textile industry at Birmingham's NEC in October.

The new system is expected to create more jobs at the firm, which currently employs 10 staff and is looking to recruit one or two service engineers over the coming months.

In the longer term, Technijet has plans to set up a production plant in South Africa to serve a growing market in that country.

Mr Macfarlane said once the firm had completed two orders for South African customers later this year, it would be in a good position to start developing the proposed joint venture.

"We see South Africa as a gateway into the Eastern markets such as China, where we need to be competitive in price," he said.

"For logistical reasons, South Africa fits the bill. It is the same time zone, they speak the same language and they are close to South Asian markets."

As well as manufacturing its own cleaning equipment, Technijet has secured a distribution deal for the UK and Europe to supply American-made cleaning-in-position' products for vessels and containers.

Now the firm is poised to launch a revamped website (www.technijet.co.uk) which will showcase its full range of products. Chris Thorp of Mobius Design Consultants in Coniston designed the new-look, which was built by David Alexander of Windermere-based Crome Internet Solutions.

"The website will offer our customers additional information and will give them much more of an idea of the full scope of our abilities," said sales and marketing manager David Miles.

January 16, 2003 10:30