High-tech Businesses Flourishing in Greater Lincolnshire
The number of high-tech businesses in Greater Lincolnshire increased by 20% to 1,500 between 2010 and 2015 as the region continued to embrace new technology.
In the same period approximately 1,600 jobs were created in high-tech sectors, bringing the total number of high-tech jobs in Greater Lincolnshire to around 10,000.
These latest figures have been revealed by the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership which today puts robotics, automation and artificial intelligence centre stage at its LEP Business Live event.
Visitors to the event today (20th October) at the EPIC Centre at the Lincolnshire Showground will get a glimpse of a high-tech future as robots and high-tech machines take over for the day.
Star of the show at the LEP’s annual conference and networking event will be Titan the Robot, a spectacular robotic attraction who will be performing and interacting with visitors.
Delegates will also hear from Mike Wilson, Sales and Marketing Manager for ABB Robotics and Chairman of the British Automation and Robot Association (BARA), who will speak about the need to embrace the future.
Future technologies that will be demonstrated on the day include:
• driverless and electric cars showcasing the green future of car travel
• two drones, one fitted with ground-penetrating radar (GPR), exhibited by Lincoln firm Metis Aerospace
• ABB Robotics’ FlexPicker robot, an example of state-of-the-art high speed robotic picking and packing technology.
• the University of Lincoln’s Thorvald advanced mobile robot which can perform a wide variety of agricultural tasks, including deployment as a multi-purpose light weight robotic carrying platform, as a sensor platform to monitor crops and soils and, potentially, as a platform to manage crops and for precision weed control
• Mower Magic’s robotic lawnmower Robomow
The event will also provide an opportunity for the LEP to launch three new initiatives:
The existing Team Lincolnshire ambassador programme will be expanded and strengthened to encourage business people from all sectors to champion Greater Lincolnshire, improve the business environment and attract investment to create a thriving economy.
A new £3 million growth investment fund targeted at accelerated job growth has been developed to support businesses with significant growth plans in the LEP’s priority sectors of agri-food, manufacturing, ports and logistics, visitor economy, health and care, low carbon and digital.
The customised programme of growth funding will stimulate further business investment that would not otherwise occur, thereby helping to remove the barriers to private sector-led growth.
An innovative new website marketinglincolnshire.com will be launched to help businesses create tailored content to showcase the best things about living, working, visiting and investing in Lincolnshire.
The website, funded by the LEP and Lincolnshire County Council, allows businesses to create a Lincolnshire place marketing story relevant to their audience, complete with statistics, facts, photos and videos, and a customised digital page of information to share via email or social media.
Cllr Colin Davie, Executive Member for Economy and Place at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “We all know Lincolnshire is a great place to live, work and invest. However, it’s not unusual to meet people from outside the county who know nothing about us, which can be a real issue when you’re trying to attract potential investors and employees.
“This new website has a wealth of material that local businesses can incorporate within their own promotional and recruitment campaigns, helping to spread the word about all Lincolnshire has to offer.”
Ursula Lidbetter MBE, Chair of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP, commented: “LEP Business Live gets bigger and better every year and we’re really pleased with the programme for the 2017 event.
“Robotics and automation represent the future for business growth in Greater Lincolnshire and LEP Business Live is a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase some of the latest technologies and find out more about what the future holds.”
LEP Business Live is taking place today (Friday 20th October) at the EPIC Centre on the Lincolnshire Showground. Registration opens at 8.15am with the first keynote speaker due to appear at 9am, and the event will end at 1.30pm.
Notes to Editors:
• The Greater Lincolnshire LEP was set up in 2010 and works with businesses and local authorities to develop and grow Greater Lincolnshire’s diverse economy.
• It is a public / private partnership led by the private sector.
• It works with central government and the private sector to invest in infrastructure, skills, innovation and productivity.
• More than 100 businesses are involved in its strategies, and 80 business people sit on its boards.
• The LEP has an ambitious and balanced strategic economic growth plan for Greater Lincolnshire.
• The LEP’s six priority sectors are agrifood, the visitor economy, manufacturing, logistics, health and care and low-carbon energy.
• The LEP has invested £307 million in local economic growth schemes in Greater Lincolnshire since 2014.
• The Greater Lincolnshire LEP covers an area including North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire and the administrative county of Lincolnshire and is led by a LEP board made up of leading figures in the public and private sector.
• To find out more visit www.greaterlincolnshirelep.co.uk or follow the LEP on Twitter: @greaterlincslep.
For media information contact:
Jez Ashberry
Shooting Star
01522 528540
07780 735071
@jezashberry
jez@weareshootingstar.co.uk
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