North East robotics innovator Wootzano landed another significant overseas deal, this time in Canada. The County Durham-based creator of packing systems for the food industry has secured a £161m supply deal with Xcela Inc which will see the firms working together over five years. The first of Wootzano's robots are expected to land in Ontario later this year - an area that is said to be the vine tomato growing capital of the whole North American continent.
Over the course of the contract the North East firm will supply more than 2,000 robots which will be used to delicately pack tomatoes destined for the shelves of grocery retailers across Canada and North America. The deal gives Xcela, which supports agricultural businesses, exclusivity over Wootzano's technology which is making waves around the world in an industry challenged by labour shortages.
Dr Atif Syed, CEO and founder of Wootzano, had travelled to Canada to initiate the agreement which comes on the back of a significant inroads made into the US market, for the North East engineers. Last year Wootzano announced a partnership in California to supply its Avarai systems into the multibillion-dollar grape growing industry.
This latest deal in Canada presents a similar opportunity for the tech to be used across significant growing and packing operations that stretch across the south of the Canadian province, towards the US border. Xcela is a key supplier into the market, offering specialist horticultural lighting, photosynthesis enhancement equipment, water purification kit and robots.
Northwood Newcastle has taken over North Shields-based Moving Homes, which operates across North Tyneside and South East Northumberland, from founder Tracey Culverhouse for an undisclosed sum. Ms Culverhouse will stay as manager of Northwood’s North Shields operation, leading a five-strong team.
Northwood is owned by brothers-in-law Inde Dhillon and Aman Singh, and has a 25-strong team working across three regional offices. The company covers an area that runs from Carlisle to the North East and down as far as York. Mr Dhillon and Mr Singh, who have professional backgrounds in law and architecture, acquired Northwood Newcastle in 2018 and two years later took over residential and lettings agency Bowes Mitchell.
Mr Dhillon said: “Our ambition is for Northwood to be the number one sales and lettings agency in the North East and this is the next step towards achieving that goal. Tracey has built a very successful business over the last decade and her absolute focus on providing the highest standards of customer services aligns perfectly with our own.
“Being able to retain her expertise and experience as part of our expanded team will be invaluable and we’re excited about what we can achieve across North Tyneside and Northumberland. Achieving consistent growth is vital if you’re going to be successful in the modern residential property market and we’re very much open to making further acquisitions as part of this process if opportunities arise in the right locations.”
The Port of Tyne has received funding of more than £1m towards making it a 5G-enabled ‘smart port’. The project, in partnership with South Tyneside Council, aims to boost the port’s reputation for innovation within the maritime industry. It will see 5G cameras and Internet of Things sensors installed to monitor the port estate and support its drive to go all-electric.
Port bosses say the scheme will enhance operational efficiency, safety and sustainability with key benefits including increased competitiveness and faster data transfer speeds. Dr Jo North, director of technology and transformation at Port of Tyne, said: “As we embrace the digital transformation of the maritime industry, the Port of Tyne is proud to lead the way as a 5G-enabled port. We have already invested in a port-wide private 5G network, and this contract will further enhance our capacity to implement innovative opportunities for sustainable growth, benefiting the communities in North and South Tyneside.”
The scheme is one of four in the North East to receive funding from the Department for Science Innovation and Technology 5G Innovation Regions grant. Also winning support are projects to develop connected intelligent transport systems, the use of wireless sensor technology on farms and 5G-enabled event production and live broadcasting.
Subsea cable specialist TechnipFMC has secured work on a £4bn green energy scheme that bills itself as one of the largest investments in the North East in decades. Net Zero Teesside Power (NZT Power) and the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) have selected TechnipFMC, which has one of its main plants on the Tyne at Newcastle, to provide an offshore subsea injection system for a huge carbon capture project in the East Coast Cluster.
The scheme - a joint venture between energy giants bp, Equinor, and TotalEnergies - will see TechnipFMC providing significant work to feed pressurized gas into an aquifer for permanent storage. The company’s technology enables the development of projects over long distances, it says.
Other contractors chosen for the scheme include a number of national and multinational firms including Balfour Beatty, Shell, Wood and Saipem. Liberty Steel Hartlepool is the other North East firm to win work on the scheme.
Newcastle biotech company InvenireX has raised £500,000 in funding as it aims to use new technology to break into the market for PCR laboratory tests. InvenireX, which is based in the city centre, has secured investment from DSW Ventures and XTX Ventures for its platform which incorporates AI and programmable DNA.
The company says its technology enables scientists to rapidly test raw material for biomarkers at minute concentrations without the need for pre-processing, saying it could have wide-ranging applications in detection of diseases, as well as environmental monitoring. Current PCR tests, which are used to diagnose certain infectious diseases and genetic changes, have some drawbacks and InvenireX says its methods could be more accurate.
The company was founded in 2021 by Daniel Todd while he was studying for a PhD in DNA and nanotechnology at Newcastle University. InvenireX currently has a team of four is engaged in two proof-of-concept studies with commercial partners in the fields of agriculture and cancer detection. It said the new funding will enable it to optimise its final prototype and deploy it into external R&D laboratories for further technical validation.
