How many of you are involved in the Technium?
There is 4 staff, Nia on reception, John Thomas the Facility Co-ordinator, myself Technium Executive and Jon Parker Technium Manager.

What about the businesses, some have started to move in here haven’t they?
There are 3 companies here at the moment, Unigryw moved in first, a Welsh Language TV Production and New Media Company.   Our second tenants were Predictive Solutions they are a Spin Out company from Aberystwyth University, involved in data mapping for biological science and smart Data an IT software company.

When was the date your first tenant moved in?
Catrin from Unigryw moved in just after we secured the European Funding in August of 2004.

The facility was ready to go by then?
Yeah, the building itself was earmarked for a Waterside hotel / Leisure Complex but for one reason or another it failed to secure private sector funding.  The WDA acquired the building with an incubation facility in mind and retrofitted the building into what you can see now, Technium Aberystwyth.

How much of a grant did you secure from Objective 1?
£882k, Pathways to Prosperity £375k and the Welsh Development Agency £377k.

So how many businesses do you aim to help, what are your targets for incubation, because you do pre incubation as well don’t you?
Yes, instead of selecting early stage technology business which already have a trading record, Technium Aberystwyth will be concentrated on developing a support mechanism for technology / knowledge based new business starts.  This is an intense 3-6 month incubation period.
On graduating from the pre-incubation stage, businesses will then enter into a full lease with Technium Aberystwyth at which point they enter into a less intensive quarterly review programme with the Technium Manager. Structured support is prescribed from the business review using standard support products and also specialist measures where needs be.  At this point the company sings up to a 3 year tenancy agreement. 

How do you gauge what is going to be high growth and successful then?
There is a vetting process in place which assists our decision making but you can never guarantee success, it’s a bit like looking into a crystal ball!  However, we anticipate that there will be failures, its part and parcel of incubation. 

Do contenders for a place in Technium have to be University Spin Outs?
No, not at all.  The first two tenants happen to be spinouts form UWA but we are looking to attract inward investors, technology new business starts, existing early stage technology businesses or subsidiaries of existing technology businesses. 

Will you help them with things like networking and contacts as well?
That is something we want to encourage, yes.  But Technium Aberystwyth offers a range of products to its tenants including bespoke business support and mentoring, office accommodation, meeting and conference facilities. Tenant businesses within Technium Aberystwyth undergo a development process from the first instance they make contact with Technium to the time they graduate. This is a fully managed process, led by the Technium Manager and Executive during the business’ tenancy.

Sorry I didn’t catch the targets for number of businesses?
Well there’s 16,000 square foot in total, of this 8,000sq ft is let able office space when you take into consideration lost space such as the reception area, toilets, kitchen etc. Clients may take a full tenancy with Technium Aberystwyth in accommodation ranging from just under 200 sq. ft. and over 1000 sq.ft..  The accommodation is leased at a rate of £15 per sq.ft. which is inclusive of business rates and other utilities. Shared kitchen facilities are also available for all tenants on each floor of the building. The tenant only has liability for out going telephone calls and the rental of that line. Internet access is included as part of the square footage costing.

Do the companies have to come from Ceredigion?
No.

Really?
Inward investment companies are eligible.

Has there been a lot of interest from potential applicants?
We ’ve got 3 businesses at the moment and we are talking to another 4 companies that have registered an interest.

How are you going to be sustainable by 2007?
Floor rent, and added value services that we offer.

s it much cheaper than other commercial office space?
It’s competitive.

What is the strategy post 2007?
We will be developing a business plan for Technium Aberystwyth post 2007.

How many jobs has the project created so far?
Our target for new jobs created is 34.5, obviously the half person is very important!  However, there are other outputs tied into the project that also needs to be met.

What happens with the businesses, when they leave here will they stay in the area or move away from Ceredigion?
It would be pointless to have businesses here if their goal was to move away. We will be work closely with every company on an exit strategy as they nearer the end of their incubation period with us.  The WDA are looking at further developing its portfolio of office accommodation, for example Capel Bangor is earmarked for development.  Aberporth is obviously being developed at the moment, 50 miles down the coast and we have units in Machynlleth.

Welsh Development Agency support businesses as they grow anyway don’t they?
Well yes there are various business support provision out there.
The application procedure, how long does it take from the time they actually apply to getting in here so far?
Well it depends really, one of the main problems is signing the tenancy and it’s been for petty things such as car parking spaces. We can turn things round very quickly if needed but it does require cooperation from the company.

How is the university involved?
The university itself has been quite forward in the development of the project.  They are one of three partners in the project along with IGER and University of Wales Lampeter. They are proactive in working with Technium tenants, especially in the areas of commissioning research services funded via KEF. To a greater degree, the development of the new Centre for Visualisation also provides opportunities and spin outs from the University. They also have an incubation centre called Crysalis, which is really a precursor to Technium.

Like a stepping stone to you?
Yes we hope to see a few more companies roll down the hill to us at the Technium Aberystwyth!

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Catrin of UNIGRYW (Film/TV Production Company)

Catrin, what does Unigryw do?

It is Media production company. We do television programmes, we also produce videos for various websites, promotional material, the last programme we did was shown in North Wales, Clwyd.

What is your background? Did you go to University and study Film and Media?

No I did Theatre as a degree, then I went on to work for a Film and Media workshop, for a television company,

Are you happy with the facilities you have got here then?

Oh yes, they’re great, yeah.

What are the benefits of being here do you think?

I think it helps being in a certain environment, the mixed environment of other business people. The more mixed the environment becomes the better that will be really, so you can all spark off ideas. And also the business backup really, the practical backup, the photocopier and the franking machine, they sound small but, but there are things that a small company doesn’t want to be bothered with really. The fact that someone will post stuff for you, which actually gives you half and hour where it means you don’t have to be running around, you know? It is lots of small things that can actually contribute to a small company.

Do you see yourself experiencing a large growth with the business, as there is only yourself at the moment?

With TV it depends on the work you get. You could land a big series which would mean yes, high growth, but with the other work it is a smaller scale growth, but the aim is to try and get other projects in that can supplement the high growth.

Have you worked with S4C a lot?

Well Unigryw has only done one programme for S4C, but I have done a lot of work with them in the past. The Welsh language market is a growing market; it’s very competitive really.

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PREDICTIVE SOLUTIONS: Christine

Did Predictive Solutions join Technium as a prebusiness, start up or founded business?

Sort of founded. It’s in its early stages; I think we have gone past the incubator stage. It’s been going for 3 years now.

Ok, so you are in your third year, what does Predictive Solutions do?

We have computer software that specialises in data mining, and initially we aimed it at the bioscience market, that’s why it was called Gmax Bio, and launched it in America. That was a few months before I joined the company as an administrator and it just snowballed from there really. We started going to exhibitions and it all went from there really?

Who set up the business?

2 academics set up the business; Douglas Cowell, he is in biological science, Jem Rowlands, he’s into Computer Science.

So how many are there in the company?

There are 3 directors, a chairman, and myself, the administrator.

Do you all work here?

There’s just me at the Technium. We did have a Sales Manager but he had a family abroad and it got too much in the end so he moved away.

So why did you choose Technium do you know?

Because it is much more business oriented than the other places we thought. It’s convivial to business, its got meeting rooms, better communications.

Do you have much to do with the other tenants?

Yeah we chat, Smart Data, I often go away with a snippet of information I have found out, about funding, we have an exchange of information. We talk about ideas, their products, and our products. When there more tenants arrive the interaction will increase also. Breakfast and coffee morning meetings and so on.

What would you say to potential tenants coming in?

I would say you have got all the help you need onhand. Business advisors are there to help you with any particular problems you’ve got, even if it is down to basics, stuff like cash flow, putting you in touch with other associations. I think it’s a nice place to bring customers to. It’s a nice business environment, its very cheap, rent wise it is. For Aberystwyth it is very reasonable accommodation.

As a company do you have growth plans?

We’ve just recruited a chief executive officer now and he’s going to be looking to recruit new sales staff, here and abroad.

Is he or she going to be based here?

Maybe some of the time, but also out a lot travelling and meeting people, seeing customers. The person in post would be dealing worldwide, not just Wales.

Ends