Innovation specialist helps UK economy fight back from COVID-19 with spin-out business launch
A PIONEERING company which solves some of the world’s most challenging problems is helping the UK economy fight back from COVID-19 by launching a new spin-out business this week.
Despite the impact of the coronavirus outbreak meaning many companies are putting their plans on hold, Createc is embracing the country’s fighting spirit by going ahead with its expansion.
Createc CEO Matt Mellor said: “Like many companies we have reassessed our business plans in the light of COVID-19.
“We have thought long and hard about whether we should go ahead with our plans to create another spin-out company in this economic environment.
“But then we thought about the need to play our part in helping to boost the UK economy.
“We’ve come to the view, therefore, that it is our duty to crack on and help create jobs and economic prosperity.
“To pause now would cause further economic damage at a time when the country needs companies like ours to step up to the plate.
“People have spoken about a need to show Dunkirk spirit in these uncertain times.
“In terms of our business that means showing faith in the UK’s economic future and committing to plans which will create jobs and prosperity.”
Createc is focusing on setting up a string of successful spin-out companies to further accelerate its research and development and commercialisation of products which provide world-first solutions.
Createc’s latest spin-out, Createc Robotics, which is being launched this week, has been set up up on the back of the success of the company’s radical “Elephants to Ants” approach to problem solving.
Createc Robotics, which will be based in Oxford, will be led by CEO Ben Chaudhri and CTO Felipe Belo and build on Createc’s approach of rapidly developing bespoke robots by bringing together a range of different off-the-shelf modules.
Createc’s first spin-out, Sportlight Technology, also based in Oxford, is developing the world’s most advanced sports analytics engine to revolutionise sports science and sports analytics.
Headed up by CEO Raf Keustermans, Sportlight will use cutting edge, military-grade technology, built on IP from Createc, to provide hyper-accurate, relevant and rich intelligence to professional sports teams.
While the sporting calendar is on pause due to the coronavirus outbreak, Sportlight will invest the time in further developing its world-first products.
Matt said: “Our vision is to build technologies that push the boundaries of what is possible today, to create a better tomorrow.
“The primary output from Createc to achieve this will be creating other companies. It’s the next stage in the evolution of the company.
“What we want to see is a strong and growing number of spin-out companies coming from Createc.
“We are up to two spin-outs now. We would like to be up to five in three years time, which is an acceleration that we are focused on.
“Our ambition is for Createc to be an innovation engine: an organisation which brings together research and development and entrepreneurialism in one place to systematically drive growth through technology.
“In the UK, we’re great at technology, great at research, but we could be so much stronger at building economic success on that base. Createc wants to do something about that.
“We’ve got total confidence in our spin-outs, and we’ve been further encouraged by early adopters Shadow Robotics and PaR systems, both of whom are using Createc Robotics’ first product to accelerate the development of their remote robotics products.”
Createc, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, is behind some of the world’s most advanced technologies in robotics and computer imaging.
The company, with bases in Oxford and the North-West of England, has built a global reputation for creating innovative technologies and successfully applying them in the civil nuclear, defence, rail, aerospace, security and medical sectors.
The 29-strong Createc team is a diverse mix of technical experts from fields such as Computer Vision, Robotics, Nuclear Measurement and Optics, with an agile engineering team who efficiently build prototype systems and develop them into full products.
Matt said: “We’re the team behind some of the world’s most advanced technologies in robotics and computer imaging. Our work bridges the gap between academic research and industry.
“Where the rubber meets the road, where technology is first put into practice, we provide the solutions.
“We’re constantly finding new fields where we can make a positive difference, and so far, we’ve taken on challenges from the nuclear decommissioning, transport, energy , defence and security sectors.”
Recruiting, and developing, talent will be a key factor in the company delivering on its goals. Its spin-out companies are pushing ahead with actively seeking those with the right mindset and ability to join the team and help drive the company forward.
Matt said: “We are looking to grow by further developing entrepreneurial thinking in the company and attracting talent.
“You have to be really focused on the goal to be part of the Createc team. But you also have to be completely flexible on how you will end up reaching that goal, because your initial plan is not going to be the one which ends up getting you there.
“We want people who will take ownership, be focused on the goal, make things happen, and have some capability in a lot of areas, including technology, business, people and finance.
“Flexibility, along with focus, is really important to us. When we started out we had no idea that this is the direction the business would take.
“We are proud we have achieved such a strong annual growth rate of 40 per cent and are excited about the future direction of Createc and its spin-out companies.”
Createc is one of only one of four companies in the whole of the North-West of England to hold two Queen’s Awards, one for International Trade and one for Innovation.
PANEL
CREATEC CEO Matt Mellor’s own route to the top is a blend of exactly the skills he is looking to further develop in his growing company.
Matt started out as an academic working in research and development for a robotics group at Oxford University.
He joined REACT Engineering in Cumbria to apply the learnings from nuclear medicine to the nuclear industry.
In 2007, Matt set up REACT’s own spin-out - aerial surveying company Hi-Def, which gave him valuable experience of the process of all that’s involved in successfully setting up a spin-out business.
Hi-Def went on to be a sustainable, successful business in its own right and in 2016 became part of the BioConsult SH group.
Matt meanwhile set up Createc in 2010 and as CEO has led the company, which has offices in Cockermouth and Oxford, to achieve impressive growth.
He has a clear vision of how the company will keep driving forward, and his motivation and appetite to lead the company to further success is clear.
“My motivation comes from bringing something completely new to life which results in the world being a better place,” he said.
“Seeing all the pieces come together and creating this thing which creates an economic benefit and also has a positive impact on the world is really satisfying.”
When he’s not running his business, Matt enjoys running in the hills and is hoping to take part in a 50-mile ultra event. He’s also a keen sailor, rock climber, and enjoys most adventure sports.
AWARDS PANEL
CREATEC’S two Queen’s Awards, one for International Trade and one for Innovation, recognise the company’s success in developing technology.
This includes its game-changingN-Visage® 3D radiation imaging device for the UK nuclear industry and successfully exporting that technology around the world, as well as applying similar thinking to solve global challenges in other industries.
N-Visage® has been successfully commercially deployed at Sellafield, and extensively at the Fukushima site in Japan. A version of the system for extreme radiation is also set to be deployed by Mitsubishi inside the reactors at Fukushima next year to generate data which will be used to plan the critical core decommissioning work.
Createc has also won awards for innovation from The Institution for Engineering and Technology (IET), The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).
Photos:
Matt Mellor, CEO of Createc
Editor’s Notes
Matt Mellor is available for interview.
This press release is issued on behalf of Createc by 32West. For media inquiries please contact 32West on 07444 022038, or email jonathan@32west.co.uk
For further information visit www.createc.co.uk
