Pictured above: (l-r) Steve Rudkin, director, Business
Initiation Grants Ltd; Barrie Billinghay, business advisor,
Sustainable Construction iNet; John Banbury, managing director,
Banbury Innovations & Steve Potts, group sales director,
Banbury Innovations
A Nottingham-based company specialising in innovative building
products has developed a structural insulated panel system (SIPS)
which could result in new homes being built at an extremely low
cost.
Banbury Innovations based in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, has
developed a unique system to build homes to levels 3 and 4 of the
Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH), and plans to market it into the
low cost housing market in the UK, with the intention of rolling it
out for export and hopefully production in the developing
world.
The Sustainable Construction iNet (iNet), the organisation which
identifies and assists businesses developing innovative techniques
for use in construction, assisted Banbury Innovations by providing
Innovation, Advice and Guidance support worth £4,200, which
helped fund the initial research and development of the system. The
iNet is funded by East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and the
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Now the prototype has been perfected, Banbury Innovations is
seeking to develop and apply refined technologies and manufacturing
techniques so the system can be put into production commercially in
the UK. The company is also convinced that this lightweight, easy
to use and incredibly cost effective system, will prove ideal for
quick and low cost house building in disaster relief areas such as
Haiti, Pakistan and other developing countries which would benefit
from such a system.
Banbury Innovations managing director, John Banbury, said: "The
iNet helped us reach the next stage in the product's development,
as we are literally on the verge of producing a potential
life-changing product which would impact hugely on construction not
only here but in the developing world. Banbury Innovations is doing
what it does best, creating innovative solutions for real life
situations and with the new SIPS product, I believe we can make a
positive impact on the low cost housing market."
Barrie Billinghay, iNet business advisor, added: "Banbury's
product is truly remarkable and should the system be adopted
worldwide in areas of need, the earning potential for Banbury is
significant. It would also provide a platform for rolling out a
great British product and production system, giving builders in the
developing world the wherewithal to make a difference to the cost
of providing housing in a truly energy efficient way."
Over the past 18 months the Sustainable Construction iNet has
helped more than 35 businesses in the East Midlands region with
targeted funding support to improve their products, processes or
services to become more commercially viable in the construction
industry, and more than 150 with specialist advice and guidance.
This financial year a further 30 SME's are expected to benefit from
iNet support through the Innovation, Advice & Guidance service,
plus a further 100+ SMEs with supplementary assistance. It also
aims to run 12 - 15 events throughout 2010 and expects to see
upwards of 1500 firms utilising the network.
In 2011 the iNet moves to its new headquarters building in
Daventry, a purpose-built business hub featuring best-practice
design with sustainability.