Welshpool firm lands £200k order

14/09/2010 @ 06:09

An innovation award won eight years ago has helped a Mid Wales engineering company land a £200,000 order to improve the security of broadband equipment at 200 locations across the UK.

Cooper Engineering, a family-run business based at Leighton Centre, Welshpool, used the £8,000 award to develop an anti-theft security fastener called Spinlock, which is being used to protect valuable equipment.

Spinlock was developed after Cooper Engineering won the research and development award in the Mid Wales Innovation Challenge 2003 competition, sponsored by MWMG, formerly Mid Wales Manufacturing Group.

Managing director Colin Cooper said winning the award gave him the confidence to develop Spinlock for the market. He explained that when other parts of his engineering business were affected by the recession, Spinlock filled the vacuum.

He revealed that, to stay one step ahead of criminals, the company has not published a photograph of a Spinlock or a technical explanation of how it works.

"At a price of £15 per £80,000 of equipment protected, we have designed and manufactured various anti theft items for a major customer and the results have been staggering, with no further break-ins reported," said Mr Cooper. "We have made it too difficult for thieves to profitably remove equipment.

"We are now targeting the Spinlock at Internet Service Providers, who use of Broadband blades or costly hardware. Spinlock could end up saving them a lot of money and we can design security products to meet specific customer requirements."

The innovative company, which employs three people, makes parts for some of the most expensive car companies in the world, including Formula 1 teams, Bentley, Jaguar and Aston Martin.

Cooper Engineering - www.cooper-security.co.uk - has been a member of MWMG, an organisation that is run by and supports manufacturers and other businesses in Mid Wales, since 1997. Membership provides direct access to expertise and saves valuable time and money for member companies

Based in Newtown, MWMG represents around 190 businesses of all sizes and types across Powys, Ceredigion, Meirionnydd and the Shropshire border. Due to the economic climate, MWMG is offering free membership to manufacturing companies and allied businesses until March next year.

For information about membership or manufacturing issues contact MWMG's office on Tel: 01686 628778, email info@mwmg.org or visit www.mwmg.org.