+24 secures £270,000 grant to develop smart technology

Padiham-based +24 has secured a £270,000 government grant to further its work helping manufacturers to reap the rewards of smart technology.

Combined with +24's own funds, the total invested in the project will be almost half a million pounds. The company has already created three new jobs and will recruit for additional roles in the near future.

The money has been allocated by the Innovate UK SMART fund, a £25m pot made available to organisations who are engaged in game-changing and commercially viable R&D innovation.

Of the 120 companies which applied for the grant, +24 was one of only a handful to succeed.

Dave Walker, the company's founder and managing director, explained the project: "We’ve been developing bespoke software solutions for businesses for years and have recently developed IoT solutions for manufacturers wanting to make their products smart and integrate into the cloud.

"This technology focusses on utilisation of data in key focus areas such as carbon reduction/environmental impacts, space optimisation, staff health & wellbeing and safety.

"We are now offering the service to invent and develop hardware technology which can communicate with our software in the cloud to further enhance our service offering to a vast range of businesses."

He added: "The importance of the grant from Innovate UK cannot be underestimated. It means we are now able to scale up significantly to develop leading edge IT technology for manufacturers both nationally and internationally.

"Ultimately, this will help support growth across all our brands, including +24 Software, +24 Academy, our digital apprenticeship training business, as well as our core business."