Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford has welcomed €680,000 of European funding for Bridgend-based business Control 2K Ltd as part of a ground-breaking cross-border project.
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
The funding will support Control 2K’s involvement in the DIGICOR project. The project will create online technology to enable small businesses across Europe to collaborate with large manufacturers and develop supply chain business opportunities.
The €7.9m project is funded by the European Commission’s largest research and innovation programme Horizon 2020,which is helping to make innovative and scientific breakthroughs and supporting the development of world-class products and services.
Professor Drakeford said:
Horizon 2020 is a very competitive programme. I am delighted another Welsh business will benefit from significant EU investment to collaborate with leading organisations and create technology to pave the way for highly-specialised innovation and the growth of businesses of all sizes across Europe.
DIGICOR will develop an online marketplace and technology to enable more advanced customisation of products and services by integrating innovations from smaller businesses into larger-scale production processes.
The project will involve businesses and universities from the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK. It will be launched today in Wales at an event to promote the Horizon 2020 programme to Welsh businesses.
Gash Bhullar, managing director of Control 2K, said:
“As a business we have worked on pan-European projects for a number of years and access to programmes like Horizon 2020 allows us to develop new skills, knowledge and technology by co-operating with leading institutes across Europe.
“We’re delighted to be involved in DIGICOR, which is an exciting new initiative with great potential for SMEs looking to embrace future technologies, which will become mainstream in three to five years’ time.”
DIGICOR’s follows the publication of statistics which show Welsh businesses and universities have been awarded €54m in funding since Horizon 2020 was launched two years ago.
To support Welsh organisations bidding for Horizon 2020 projects, the Welsh Government is helping with bid writing and travel costs through the SCoRE Cymru fund. To date, 69 organisations, mostly SMEs, have accessed more than £300,000 from the Welsh Government to support applications to the European Commission for Horizon 2020 funding.