A manufacturing firm in Cornwall has expanded its operations with a new site and a six-fold growth of staff after securing a near £80,000 funding boost.
Piran Advanced Composites designs, engineers and makes parts for equipment - mostly using carbon fibre - used in the space, aerospace, defence, automotive, medical and marine sectors.
The Wadebridge-based company has used a £78,883 grant to acquire a new piece of machinery capable of designing master patterns to make moulds for aircraft parts.
The business, which originally manufactured and repaired composites for the RNLI, said the new tech had allowed it to get involved in a “number of high-profile projects”.
Among these was the production of parts for a solar-powered drone, jointly developed by BAE Systems and Prismatic, designed to carry out surveillance from the stratosphere.
Piran said the funding has also helped boost its production levels and grow its workforce from five to 30 in the past 12 months. It added there would be further expansion opportunities from September when it hopes to take on apprentices.
Piran recently acquired a large space at Cornwall’s Enterprise Zone, the Aerohub in Newquay, while it also has plans for “further developments”.
The money was awarded to the business through the BIG Productivity scheme - an investment programme for Cornish SMEs, financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and delivered by Cornwall Council.
Chief executive Mawgan Searle said: “This is a real chance for us to bring a completely different industry to the region. Thanks to BIG Productivity, we are one of the most innovative companies in Cornwall with this specialist capability. It’s an integral part of our business and what we have been able to do has been incredible.”
Lyn Newby, BIG Productivity’s programme manager, added: “Piran Advanced Composites Ltd has worked on world-leading projects in a variety of industries and is one of the leading advanced composite facilities in the South West.
“We are thrilled that this investment from BIG Productivity will retain work in Cornwall and support the company’s continued growth.”
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