New High Tech facility at the Heath

SOG's unique technical support plays a key role in creating Nanoco's new nano-materials production facility at The Heath

SOG Group’s scientific support services team have created a new high-tech research and development facility at The Heath Business and Technical Park for Nanoco Group plc, a world leader in the development and manufacture of cadmium-free quantum dots and nanomaterials.

The new facility will enable Nanoco to service a major new contract with a very short timeline. Nanoco, which has its UK headquarters in Manchester, has been operating from The Heath in Runcorn since 2010 where it manufactures quantum dots and other nanomaterials for use in LCD televisions, monitors and lighting systems.

SOG Group, The Heath’s owner and operator, has created 10,000 square feet of additional space for state-of-the art laboratories, offices and storage capacity for Nanoco in a fast-track project managed by SOG’s specialist technical support team.

Andrew Gooda, Supply Chain and Compliance Director for Nanoco Technologies Ltd, says: “We urgently required additional capacity. The attraction for us at The Heath is that SOG not only provided the space we needed but also had the very specialist technical knowledge and expertise to manage the entire facilities project for us, thanks to their team of highly-skilled management staff and technicians.

“We are working to an immensely tight time frame and SOG have delivered to our specification, on time and within budget. I don’t believe this could have been achieved anywhere else in the North West. SOG not only have the sophisticated science buildings and infrastructure we require, they also provide superb technical support too. Our alternative would have been to consider a new build which would have been prohibitive due to the cost and the time involved.”

The Heath’s science centre is located in buildings once used by chemicals giant ICI for research and development which already have extensive air handling systems and laboratory utilities that SOG have adapted for 21st century technology.

Charles Davies, Managing Director of SOG’s Resources division, says: “We have a proven track record of being able to adapt and modify laboratory and technical space fast and efficiently. We can deliver turnkey projects to customer specifications using our own very talented technicians and working alongside specialist contractors, project-managed by SOG. We provide a top quality level of technical support to our customers that other science parks are unable to match.”

Mr Davies adds: “We offer a multitude of support services. We are Health and Safety specialists who can support and advise clients to meet their own statutory obligations which is crucial in the design phase to ensure facilities are fit for purpose on completion which in turn saves money, time and effort and minimises the risk of rework. We undertake design risk assessments and deliver total project management packages to ensure projects are delivered on time and on budget.”
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Nanoco’s original bespoke facility, created by SOG’s in-house technicians at The Heath, covered 3,000 square feet of floor space. However, by 2017 the company had expanded to over 8,000 square feet to meet the demand for quantum dots from markets around the world. The new expansion project more than doubles the existing space.

It has taken just over six months for SOG’s Resources Division to design and build the new facility within a refurbished building in The Heath’s Science Centre — complete with high-tech fume cupboards, gas and air-handling facilities and specialist mechanical and electrical services.

About The Heath
The Heath Business and Technical Park is a phenomenal regeneration success story. Formed in 2000, its owner and operator, SOG Ltd, has transformed a once single occupancy corporate facility into a thriving independent business park. The Heath now provides office and laboratory accommodation for more than 120 individual organisations, ranging from business services and IT specialists to those at the cutting edge of science, research and advanced manufacturing. Around 2,000 people are employed at the site. For further information, telephone 01928 515988 or visit www.theheath.com

For more information, please see:
www.theheath.com

PAUL SMITH ASSOCIATES
6th November 2018