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FUND SUPPORTS DEVELOPMENT OF INNOVATIVE WINDOW SYSTEM

ICW wins backing from Partnership Investment Finance

Partnership Investment Finance has made a £15,000 micro loan to ICW Modular Glazed Systems of Wakefield, to support the final stages of development of a pioneering  touch sensitive ventilation window mechanism, initially designed for use on public transport.

Partnership Investment Finance (PIF) is the £37m investment fund aimed at supporting growing businesses in the region.

PIF provides a range of loans and equity investments of up to £1m to eligible businesses in Objective 2 areas of Yorkshire, the Humber and North East Lincolnshire.
 
The new window mechanism was invented by ICW’s Managing Director, Margaret Wood, and resulted in her being named runner-up in the British Female Inventor of the Year awards for work in industry in 2005.

Originally developed in association with Sheffield Hallam University, the “hopper window” is designed to replace conventional opening ventilation windows on public transport and could have wider commercial and domestic applications.

Margaret Wood, who is also Chairman of First, the Wakefield district regeneration agency, said: “We have reached the final development stage before bringing the new product to market and bus manufacturers have expressed real interest in it.

“The PIF micro loan will provide us with valuable support in completing this essential product development work. Arranging the loan was easy and straightforward and ensured that we received valuable funding at a time when it was most needed.“

ICW, based on the Caldervale Industrial Estate at Horbury Junction, makes a wide range of bespoke specialist glazing products to the highest safety and environmental standards. Its products are exported around the world for a variety of applications, from the fast transit system in Kuala Lumpur and the European fighter aircraft test bed chambers to sausage-skin making equipment in Yorkshire.

Jonathan Craig, Fund Manager,  said: “ICW is a successful small business employing only five people but with a world-wide reputation for its specialist products. I am delighted that we have been able to support the business with a micro loan. Applications can be made online and the process is designed to be as simple as possible.”

Alex McWhirter, Head of Enterprise at Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency, said: “ICW is operating in a specialised market that is reliant on innovation to keep its competitive edge. They are exactly the type of company that PIF is designed to support, helping them to bring this new window system to market. ”