Digital visualisation specialist Animmersion has received a six-figure investment from UKSE that will be used to hire new talent.
The Middlesbrough firm - which offers virtual and augmented reality, holograms and animation among other services - has seen 25% growth in turnover for two years in a row, despite the challenges of Covid.
It is the second UKSE investment in 19-strong Animmersion, which counts customers in a range of sectors including engineering, healthcare, offshore, science, energy and retail.
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Sam Harrison, Animmersion’s CEO, said "We are currently advertising for technical artists and a senior creative but are always looking for new talent. This second investment from UKSE will help us to grow our team and consider a number of growth plans including the setting up of a demonstration space.
"Our previous investment from UKSE was in 2018 and they have been a strong and supportive partner. I would encourage any business to put them top of the list if they are looking for financial support."
Sarah Thorpe, UKSE regional manager, said: "Animmersion is one of Teesside’s real success stories operating in a sector with great potential. We are very pleased to be able to support them with a second and larger investment, supported by the government-backed Recovery Loan Scheme. It is very rewarding to build up relationships with companies and work alongside them as they grow."
Animmersion says it has seen particularly strong growth in developing content for younger audiences that helps industries to fill vital skills gaps.
Mr Harrison added: “We are working with Skills Development Scotland and a number of UK colleges directly to create content that enables young people to undertake virtual reality work experience.
“We create virtual reality work experience tours and also repurpose existing or newly commissioned industrial immersive training so that young people, parents and teachers can experience exactly what it is like to work in a whole range of industrial roles, to a level that would have previously required privileged onsite access. This approach is entertaining and engaging for the audiences, highly cost effective for companies and very scalable.
“We are working with global automotive manufacturer Unipres (UK) in Sunderland on crane driver training. And recently created four interactive games for the Anglo American’s education outreach programme based around their Woodsmith polyhalite fertiliser mine on the North Yorkshire coast.”
UKSE is a subsidiary of Tata Steel and offers finance packages of up to £1m for firms. Its North of England office covers Tees Valley, Derwentside and West Cumbria.
