“Choosing the right Associate for your business at Interview is key - we scored a bullseye with ours.”

Peter Ross, Managing Director, CP Cases Ltd

CP Cases Ltd designs and manufactures high performance protective cases for the storage, use and transportation of a wide range of high value equipment required for broadcast, medical, security and defence applications. The company, based near Heathrow airport, has been in business for just over 50 years, employs around 60 people and is always seeking innovations that can improve or develop new products for their global customers. 

Peter Ross, Managing Director, who proclaims himself a “KTP evangelist”, said that CP Cases had worked in the past with two English universities on earlier research projects, but only discovered KTP about seven years ago. 

“We recognise the value that linking into university research can bring us in new product development. We wanted to set up and develop an in-house rotational moulding facility and reached out to Queen’s University Belfast because we knew of its expertise and reputation in engineering and particularly in the polymers area.”

David Seall and Peter set up an exploratory meeting in Belfast with Dr Peter Martin, Director of the Queen’s Polymer Processing Research Centre, now part of AMIC (Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre). They also met with Lorraine Marks, Head of KTP and Business Engagement Programmes at Queen’s, who introduced them to KTP.

“Lorraine and Peter thought that what we wanted would make a good KTP project and encouraged us to fast-track an application for the next round of KTP funding,” Peter says. “We submitted our project proposal just in time in December 2018 and, as we had hoped, it was approved.

“The next step in the KTP process is to interview the candidates who apply to find the best Associate. I can’t stress enough to other business leaders considering a KTP just how crucial it is to select the right candidate who will fit in well in your organisation – not just in engineering or academic abilities, but who will fit the culture and ethics of your business.  

I followed my instincts and did not offer the role to any of the first group of candidates we interviewed. Very frustrating, and while it delayed the start of our project, I am so glad we did. Among the next batch of candidates, we truly hit the bullseye in finding Karem Akoul! Karem was an unpolished gem who quickly fitted in with our team. It is a big investment for an SME to take on a new member of staff as an Associate – not just the salary, but in terms of the amount of time required to help them develop the other business and management skills they need for the role outside the specialist skills they bring.  Karem coped extremely well when the project pivoted in several ways – partly necessitated by the Covid pandemic.” 

CP Cases’ first KTP project was originally focused on introducing a new robotic rotational moulding facility to the business. But the company quickly realised that conventional rotational moulding would better serve their purpose. A nearby disused factory was acquired and Karem took on the wider responsibilities of refurbishing the facility, connecting to all the utilities and services required, and installing and making operational a new rotational moulding system that represented a major investment for the business. A rigorous series of tests on all products are also carried out here now. And all during the pandemic!

Reflecting on the outcomes of the project, Peter states that:

“The whole project has gone extremely well. CP Cases now has the facility to manufacture in-house some of the work that had previously been sub-contracted out. We couldn’t have achieved this without Karem and the regular input on the project from the Queen’s team led by Dr Martin. Karem has proved to be a very valuable member of our team. He accepted a permanent position with us after his 30 months as an Associate, and since then has been promoted twice, and is now our Projects Manager, managing a number of high profile projects and key international customers.”

The company’s partnership with Queen’s has also continued beyond the first KTP project, with both sides keeping in touch regularly on new developments of interest.

“In fact, Peter reports. “We together identified a second area for a KTP project and are now working in year two of it.  Again, we are delighted with our Associate Alex. He brings a specialist skill in software design and is developing a bespoke software package to digitise, streamline and link all the management systems within CP Cases ERP system. This ERP system is really helping us to deal more efficiently with customer enquiries, orders and manufacturing lead times – increasing our OTIF deliveries, product quality and customer service.”

Peter confirms that he endorses and recommends KTP to other businesses.

“KTP links us into cutting-edge research taking place in the university. Plus, as a small business it gives us access to a wider range of highly skilled applicants who apply because of the University’s global expertise and reputation. We have secured two excellent young engineers through KTP. They would not otherwise have known of our company and might easily have been snapped up by a larger organisation. But I believe that the KTP experience with an SME like ours offers the Associate additional opportunities too. They can become more closely involved in the business as a whole, beyond a technical only role – and are supported in the development of their interpersonal and commercial skills - and this diversity within the role can be more rewarding and offer more learning experiences.”

 

KTPs are funded by UKRI through Innovate UK with the support of co-funders, including the Scottish Funding Council, Welsh Government, Invest Northern Ireland, Defra and BEIS. Innovate UK manages the KTP programme and facilitates its delivery through a range of partners including Innovate UK Business Connect, Knowledge Bases and Businesses. Each partner plays a specific role in the support and delivery of the programme.

If you have an innovative idea for your business and would like to discuss whether a KTP could help take it forward, please contact us at ktp@qub.ac.uk

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For more information about this partnership, please contact aoife.lynch@qub.ac.uk