Wednesbury based firm Sirus Automotive, which specialises in the conversion of vehicles for use by disabled drivers, is to receive £249,000 from Advantage West Midlands.
The grant is to help the innovative company expand its business by moving into larger premises and by investing in equipment, tooling and new demonstrator vehicles.
The project is set to create 35 jobs within the Wednesbury North Ward of Sandwell, which falls within the Black Country Regeneration Zone, as well as generate £4 million new Gross Value Added (GVA) and leverage £479,000 private sector investment.
Russell Venvil, Director of the four-year-old company, which is currently based at Unit 3, Block 3 of Wednesbury Trading Estate, said: “We are delighted by the support we are receiving from Advantage West Midlands. The grant will prove invaluable and help us to stay in the region, create jobs for local people and continue investing in new product development.
“Product innovation is our priority. We invest hugely in developing vehicles that are at the forefront of the industry, which enables us to remain market leaders of ‘drive from wheelchair’ and ‘passenger up front’ vehicles. This grant means we can now move to newer, larger premises to cope with the demand for our vehicles.”
Corporate Director of Economic Development at Advantage West Midlands, Dr Richard Hutchins, said: “In line with the West Midlands Economic Strategy, innovative projects are changing lives and boosting the economy across our region. Innovation is one of the main challenges facing the region and encouraging companies of all sizes to develop new products and ideas is a key priority.
“Sirus Automotive is to be congratulated for successfully harnessing its automotive and design expertise and identifying and capitalising on opportunities in the market place. We are extremely pleased to support the expansion of their growing business by providing a grant to help them move to a larger site.
“This project supports the work of the regional transport and medical technologies cluster and our strong commitment to promoting the diversity and equality of the region.”
Douglas Campbell, Independent Disability Consultant recently said: "The development of (Sirus’) WAV-Evolution shows that here in the UK we have some of the best engineers in the world and they are producing some really imaginative, innovative solutions to meet the mobility needs of disabled people. This is hardly surprising given the way we lead the world in automotive engineering.”