Wolverhampton biomaterials firm among companies set to benefit from Mayor’s plan to protect and create jobs

A Wolverhampton business revolutionising the use of seaweed to cut plastic waste is among firms in the region set to benefit from a £6m research and development fund launched by the Mayor of the West Midlands.

The fund has been set up to protect existing manufacturing jobs and create hundreds more.

Mayor Richard Parker has today announced the fund’s first nine innovative recipients which will split £1.3m from the West Midlands Investment Zone Supply Chain Transition programme and use it to develop new products, services and manufacturing processes.

The chosen firms are leading the way in a range of sectors from electric vehicles, low carbon construction and green industries to defence, aerospace, and the circular economy.

Among the businesses set to benefit from the programme is Wolverhampton-based SymbioTex, founded by University of Wolverhampton graduates Olivia Simpson and Dr Mattia Parati.

The company is looking to expand the range of products it’s able to manufacture from sustainably farmed seaweed as an alternative to single-use plastics.

Olivia Simpson, managing director and co-founder at SymbioTex, said: “Securing this grant is a significant step forward for SymbioTex and our ambition to develop sustainable, high-performance alternatives to conventional plastic packaging. The funding will enable us to develop a new anti-static packaging solutions opening up exciting opportunities in strategic new markets and supply chains.

“As we scale up our seaweed-derived biomaterials technology, this support will help us turn innovation into practical commercial applications, strengthen our business and contribute to the growth of more sustainable manufacturing in the West Midlands. We’re delighted to be taking this next step from our base in Wolverhampton.”

All nine companies selected for the programme are already based in the region and have matched their grants with another £1.4m of their own investment.

The other eight successful recipients of funding are: 4T2 Sensors; Birmingham, Brandauer & Co, Birmingham; Tooling 2000, Birmingham; Gainsborough Healthcare Group Ltd, Walsall; Darvick Ltd, Brierley Hill; European Materials Recycling Group LTD, multiple locations across the region; Plant Carbon, Warwick; and Tecman Speciality Materials, Leamington.

The funding programme is one of several being used to help accelerate the West Midlands Reindustrialisation Blueprint, which was launched by the Mayor earlier this month to turn more research and innovation into companies that scale, manufacture and employ people in the region.

Mayor Richard Parker said: "Manufacturing is still the beating heart of the West Midlands’ economy, providing jobs for more than a quarter of a million people. It’s critical that we futureproof those jobs and capitalise on the massive potential there is to create many thousands more.

“This R&D funding does exactly that by backing a range of companies; from Brandauer, which has a wealth of experience and was even around in the first industrial revolution, to new generation manufacturers like SymbioTex, whose founders Olivia and Mattia have an instinct for innovation and the makings of a great business that is good for our economy and the environment.

“There’s no shortage of talent like this in our region. My job is to make sure this is where they develop their ideas, make their products and create the good jobs and opportunities local people deserve.”

Alongside the R&D grants, the West Midlands Investment Zone Supply Chain Transition programme will also support more than 200 manufacturing businesses with hundreds of hours of fully funded practical business development and growth advice, helping them plan for the future and putting their senior and aspiring leaders through advanced management training.

The support aims to help companies diversify into high-growth, tech-driven manufacturing markets like advanced engineering, electric vehicles and battery technology, clean tech and energy, health and medical tech, aerospace, smart energy systems, and digital technologies.

Growth in the sectors is a priority of the region’s Growth Plan as well as the government’s Industrial Strategy with momentum set to be turbocharged by the Investment Zone’s three key sites in Coventry/Warwick, Birmingham, and Wolverhampton.

The Supply Chain Transition programme is being run in a partnership between the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and Supply Smarter West Midlands, with £12.5m secured by the Mayor from the government.

Supply Smarter West Midlands is a consortium led by C&W Business Solutions, Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), WMG at University of Warwick, and the three partners of the West Midlands Combined Universities Partnership (WMCU), Birmingham City University, Coventry University and University of Wolverhampton.

SMEs can apply to join the programme via the Business Growth West Midlands website.