An industry that touches all our lives

Jan 29 2008 by Sarah Judd, Evening Gazette

THE Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) at Wilton has gained international recognition since it opened a £12m biotechnology facility in July.

Funded by One NorthEast and the Northern Way, the National Industrial Biotechnology Facility (NIBF) is helping to reduce our dependence on chemicals in a range of everyday products, from biological washing powder to stay-fresh bread and wine.

It uses nature to develop environmentally friendly manufacturing methods, thus helping producers achieve “clean label” status and reduce their environmental burden.

And it has been busy.

A spokeswoman for the NIBF said: “Since the opening of the NIBF we have been inundated with a huge range of projects and enquiries.

“We’ve already successfully completed a dozen or so purely commercial contracts for some large name global pharmaceutical and speciality chemical companies.

“These have led to repeat business.”

The NIBF also works collaboratively with European universities and research institutes, and is helping develop intellectual property streams in various technology areas, which it hopes to commercialise over the next year.

Skills development is key to its future.

“Although the NIBF is a truly unique proposition in terms of technical capability, it is the people we employ to operate the facility who really add that extra value to our projects,” said the spokesperson.

“Over the next year we need to double the size of our NIBF team to enable us to deliver all of our projects and continue to grow our business.

“Good quality candidates, skilled and experienced in process industry expertise, are essential for us to continue to keep ahead of the game. As we embark on various rounds of recruitment we are already seeing a market shortage in some key skill areas.”

“The National Skills Academy is essential for the future. It will help keep us supplied with the calibre of candidate we need.”

See page three to read about the one of the largest corporate backers of the National Skills Academy for the Process Industries.