Consumer needs are also becoming more sophisticated and today’s customers are more conscious of their options and of the latest technological developments. In this environment, no company can afford to stand still. However, many companies recognise the importance of research and development investment for long term survival and growth.

In Northern Ireland, the Industrial Research and Technology Unit (IRTU) plays a central role in promoting and supporting a culture where innovation and technology development can thrive. IRTU aims to raise awareness of the importance of innovation and to complement this with a range of programmes that provide the necessary investment support for research and development.

Over the last five years, initiatives such as those outlined below, have contributed to a 31% increase in real terms in industrially relevant research and development by Northern Ireland companies, compared to a decrease for the UK as a whole.

Scientific Services – Provision of a wide range of advisory, consultancy and laboratory services across disciplines such as biology, chemistry, environmental science, metallurgy and information technology.

Compete – Support for market led product and process development. Project definition phase attracts assistance up to 50% of eligible costs to a maximum grant of £15,000. Project development phase attracts assistance up to 40% of eligible costs to a maximum grant of £250,000.

Start – Support for technology based, industrially relevant, pre-competitive R&D. Particular attention is given to projects involving technologies highlighted in the Foresight exercise. Assistance is available for up to 50% of project costs, to a maximum grant of £2 million per project.

Smart - Support for individuals and small firms to develop innovative ideas. Winners initially receive up to £45,000.

TCS – Support for collaboration between industry and universities through graduate placements.

Design – Advice and information to promote world class design standards.

An enlightened approach to business success

John and Gerard Meenan set up FSL Electronics in 1988 to develop a remote control system that could be used in a wide range of industrial and commercial environments.

Through contact with the Department of the Environment (NI), the Company was asked to develop a system that could detect faults in street lights.

Recognising the considerable resources that would be required to complete the project, the company approached IRTU and in 1992 was successful in the Smart Awards, and proceeded to obtain further Smart funding the following year for a Street Light Monitoring system.

Having completed this project, prototypes have been sold successfully to the Electricity Supply Board and a number of companies across America.

The company has also developed an industrial remote control system for use in the mining and excavation industry, construction, building materials processing, forestry and timber processing, food and animal feed manufacturing and security shutters.

FSL’s "Ultrabeam" has become recognised worldwide as a quality, state-of-the-art remote control system that can operate in some of the harshest environments. As part of its unique approach to business, FSL will provide a complete bespoke service for customers from initial consultancy and design to manufacture and commissioning.

Other products include a range of outdoor scoreboards and timing systems for cricket, GAA, hockey, rugby and soccer.

On the right wavelength

In 1982, Radiocontact Limited identified the need for technologically advanced but competitively priced broadcast, transmission and telemetry equipment. Previously this had only been available from a limited number of companies that concentrated on large scale applications at high prices.

Today the company is one of the most innovative and technologically sophisticated in the United Kingdom, designing and developing a range of unique products that have been marketed successfully on UK and world markets.

The Leaky Feeder Perimeter Movement Detection System, for example, was developed by Radiocontact Limited to detect movement within the area of a perimeter fence or generated protective field.

Radiating cables are similar to normal co-axial cables but with reduced screening or ports in the screening which allow or control radiation leakage. The radiating/receiving (leaky feeder) cable consists of an outer screen of copper braiding separated from an inner conductor by a dielectric sheaf. The electromagnetic radiation is generated when a current flows in a circuit through the cable. This will also induce some of the external radiation that the cable is exposed to. The radiating cable therefore can be used either as a transmitting or receiving device, like a radiating or receiving antenna.

Leaky Feeder Cables are mounted on the perimeter fence or wall and connected to a radiating source to generate an electro magnetic field around the protected area.

This system will also provide volumetric detection, both portable and permanent, where a centrally mounted antenna is used to generate the electric field along a "ring" of Radiating Cable laid on the surface of the ground around the perimeter of the area to be protected. Its versatility allows it to adapt to any particular site characteristics from undulating ground to across rivers using a combination of LF cables and antennas.

Speaking about the project, Radiocontact’s Managing Director John Glen said: "The scale and development costs in projects of this type are such that they could not have been undertaken within a viable timescale and without jeopardising the ongoing expansion and development of the existing core business without the assistance and grant aid that the IRTU Smart scheme offers".

From willow plant to heat and power plant

The production of energy from renewable energy sources has received considerable political focus and attention within the European Union for many years and has been the subject of extensive pre competitive research.

In 1997, the European Commission issued a draft Strategy and Action Plan for renewable Energy sources with a target to double the contribution of renewable energy sources by 2010.

IRTU’s Compete programme is assisting Rural Generation Limited (RGL) to develop the World’s first "commercial" biomass Combined Heat and Power (CHP) unit run on biogas produced from willow coppice chips.

An Energy Technology Support Unit Survey of the renewable energy resources in Northern Ireland revealed that the potential accessible resource of electricity generated from coppice energy crops is 470GWh/year, equivalent to the installation of a 54MW power station.

Energy crops, RGL argues, are one of the greatest potential sources of renewable energy for electricity and heat, and if energy crops, such as Short Rotation Coppice (SRC), are included in the general mix of agricultural crops there would be significant environmental and ecological benefits, alongside the development of a fully sustainable energy resource.

Rural Generation’s objectives are to take fairly basic systems pioneered at Enniskillen Agricultural College and Brook Hall Estate near Londonderry and "value engineer" them into a commercially viable product. The willow coppice is grown and harvested then chipped, dried and gasified to fuel a CHP unit and provide heat both to dry the willow and provide space heating of farm buildings. Electricity is also sold to Northern Ireland’s power grid at an index linked price.

The Company is also broadening its outlook to include other fuels – e.g. waste wood, wood from woodland management, and the briquetting of saw dust and MDF dust to examine the gasification possibilities, resulting in opening new potential markets for this technology.

John Gilliland, Chairman of Rural Generation Limited, says the experience has convinced him that there is considerable potential to replicate these biomass-to-energy plants on a much wider scale in the British Isles.

Innovation the key to business success in the Millennium

Millennium Products is a DTI and Design Council initiative supported by the IRTU Design Directorate in Northern Ireland to identify innovative and creative new products to mark the Millennium.

The Design Directorate has been encouraging and facilitating applications from all over the Province, with 23 products developed in Northern Ireland having been awarded Millennium Product status, a formidable total in a UK context.

Award winning innovation on the Waterfront

Valpar Industrial Limited’s core business is the manufacture of insulated clusters of tubing for draught beverage dispensers. As part of its long term commitment to product innovation, the company developed new technology for jacketing tubing bundles which, with further adaptation, using recycled materials, produced Docksafe.

The winner of an IRTU Innovation Award in 1998 and a Millennium Product, this unique, energy absorbing fendering system for marina pontoons enables leisure boat owners to moor boats safely, even at night, with cushion protection against hull damage, without the need to deploy conventional fenders.

Before berthing, traditional inflatable fenders are suspended from boats and provide only localised hull protection. Pontoon edging strips offer little protection and are expensive and difficult to install.

Docksafe has unique energy absorption and deflection ("cushioning") properties, is easily installed and provides continuous protection along the length of the pontoon.

What’s more, its outer coating absorbs and later releases ultra violet light, creating a highly visible boundary between pontoon edge and water.

Looking smart for the Millennium

Developed by William Clark & Sons in Maghera, Tailorluxe uses revolutionary technology to enable manufacturers to produce a garment offering a traditional, hand-tailored look and feel using normal methods of bulk production.

Another Millennium Product, Tailorluxe’s secret is a revolutionary adhesive that drops rapidly in viscosity under conditions achievable in normal garment production during the pressing/steaming stage. It opens the opportunity for manufacturers to produce a garment that is loose-lined without the need and expense of basting and hand-stitching. The interlining is fused easily at 60°C to allow conventional manufacture of the jacket but, unlike any other standard interlining, Tailorluxe is designed to be released totally from the outer fabric, using steam and vacuum at the final pressing stage.

Not only does it challenge the way we think about jackets, Tailorluxe also uses natural fibres or blends and environmentally friendly coatings… so it’s also good for the planet!

Such is the interest in the new development that a major international manufacturer of interlinings has purchased the marketing rights for much of Europe, although it is accepted that, because of the radical nature of the innovation, it will take some time to establish itself in the market place.