BIG Productivity investment has helped a mineral processing company to grow its services
A
£23,717 investment from BIG Productivity
has allowed Truro-based Grinding Solutions to
purchase equipment that will help the company grow and expand its services.
Grinding
Solutions, owned by husband and wife team Nick and Felicity Wilshaw, is a
mineral processing company that offers consultancy, laboratory testing, site
audits and plant design to clients around the world.
The
business was founded by Nick in 2002, with Felicity joining in 2010, and it has
enjoyed year-on-year growth as it has expanded its facilities and services,
especially on the laboratory side.
Director
Felicity said: “We cover all minerals from coal to gold and everything in
between. We assist a wide range of clients to optimise the liberation of
minerals from their samples and help them to understand the best and most cost-effective
liberation and extraction methods, while being mindful of environmental
requirements and energy efficiencies that can be made.
“We
initially completed lab-scale test work for our clients to understand if it is
feasible to extract the product from the ground. If this is successful, we can
then proceed to pilot scale testing to determine the feasibility of industrial
scale minerals production.”
Thanks
to the grant from BIG Productivity, and their own investment, Grinding Solutions
has been able to purchase a full range of pilot scale equipment, growing the
services it can offer to new and existing clients.
Felicity
had been on the look-out for grant funding to complement their growth
aspirations and was introduced to BIG Productivity through Access to Finance
and her own networking.
Felicity
said: “This investment is really going to change what we can do and help us
expand massively. We are the only company in the region that can offer this
level of services, and we couldn’t have done it without the BIG Productivity
fund.”
As
well as working with clients all over the world, Grinding Solutions has strong
Cornish links. Nick is an alumni of the Camborne
School of Mines, as well as Vice Chairman of the CSM
Trust, which invests in future mining education. The company is
also currently working closely with Cornish Lithium, a mineral
exploration and development company that focuses on the sustainable extraction
of lithium in the battery metals industry.
Grinding
Solutions has also worked with other business support projects in the region
including Oxford Innovation, Unlocking
Potential and Acceleration Through Innovation
(ATI) Cornwall.
“As
a company, we aim to be as innovative as possible in our approach, particularly
in light of the increased global challenges within the industry. As the easier-to-extract
minerals have been mined, there is a greater requirement for technology to
allow more complex and finer minerals to be extracted at economic rates. We
work hard to enable our clients to manage and embrace new technologies while
being considerate of the environment and their social licence to operate,” said
Felicity.
“During
the past few challenging months, we resolved to come through the Covid-19
pandemic bigger and stronger than ever before. We have put in place a new plan
to expand further into markets, such as battery metals and recycling, as well
as pushing and expanding our current offering.”
Anna Staevska, BIG
Productivity’s programme manager, said: “Grinding Solutions is a company with deep
roots in the region which provides a vital service for companies worldwide. BIG
Productivity grant funding has supported the expansion of their offering, enabling
the company to provide a fuller range of services to their customers, which, in
turn, will allow them to improve their own productivity and grow their
business.”
BIG Productivity is a £3.1m fund that offers grants from £2,500 up to £150,000 to qualifying small and medium-sized businesses in Cornwall to boost their productivity.
BIG Productivity is supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Growth Programme, and is delivered by Cornwall Development Company. It aims to help 175 local businesses become more productive and create 175 new jobs in the Cornish economy.
The fund has
also launched a new advisory service to offer strategic, non-financial support
to Cornish SMEs. The Advanced
Advisory Service (AAS) is looking to engage with 30 ERDF-eligible
Cornish SMEs, with a turnover of more than £250,000, on projects that will be a
catalyst for growth.
For
more information on BIG productivity or to see if your business might be
eligible visit www.businessinvestmentforgrowth.co.uk