CenFRA could be self-funding by autumn 2011, says boss
Since its launch in 2007, the Doncaster-based centre - which helps food and drink manufacturers explore the benefits of increased automation - has been supported by Yorkshire Forward.
However, questions were raised about CenFRA's future earlier this year, after it emerged that a three-year contract with the RDA, due to come to an end in November, was not going to be renewed.
Md Steve Blazye said CenFRA had since “secured firm funding from Yorkshire Forward until at least March 2011” and was “now in a position to implement our ambitious new business plan, which has been formulated to help us achieve self-sufficiency as early as autumn next year”.
Strong support from Yorkshire Forward and MPs
He added: “We have been overwhelmed by the support received from both Yorkshire Forward and MPs, who have expressed their belief in the CenFRA initiative and the vital role it plays in helping ensure the long-term sustainability of the UK food and drink manufacturing sector.”
More details about how CenFRA hopes to achieve financial self-sufficiency would be released shortly, said a spokeswoman.
The centre has worked with a series of leading players in the food and drink sector from Northern Foods to Arla Foods, and has recently introduced new simulation techniques that can help firms ‘virtually’ evaluate the merits of automating production processes before making costly investments.
While it makes some money from project work, bosses had originally been working to a five-year plan with a view to becoming self-sufficient by the end of 2012, one industry source told FoodManufacture.co.uk.
