KW Special Projects (KWSP) is one of six businesses to be identified by the newly formed partnership between the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and the Motorsport Industry Association (MIA) as an example of a business engaged in ‘Horizontal Innovation’ – the transfer of technology from one industry to another.
The high performance engineering and additive manufacturing specialist, which has successfully utilised its knowledge from the motorsport industry to solve a specific technical challenge in the industrial inkjet sector by building and developing a lightweight composite structure that reduces the weight, size and structure of an industrial inkjet printer. As a result, it was invited to be one of the six case-studies to feature in the MIA and IET’s horizontal innovation film which was showcased at the launch event yesterday (20th January 2016) to mark the pioneering partnership.
Kieron Salter, KWSP managing director said: “We welcome this new initiative which recognises the benefit that high performance motorsport companies can bring to other sectors and the importance of horizontal innovation. Our business expertise lies in matching technologies to problems and identifying opportunities learnt from motorsport that can be applied in other industries; we are not tied to any specific sector, we are solution providers. It also works both ways because what we learn from others can then be transferred back into motorsport.”
The informative film was unveiled at the launch event to illustrate how innovative motorsport technologies are being successfully transferred into other industrial sectors. It also features; Williams Advanced Engineering, Aerofoil Energy and Sainsbury’s; Race Technology and Greater Manchester Neonatal Transport Team at Saint Mary’s Hospital Manchester; Forward Composites and Hybrid Air Vehicle; Ricardo and General Dynamics; and Prodrive and Land Rover Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR).
The ground-breaking collaboration unites two world leaders in their field – motorsport innovation and technology transfer knowhow of the MIA, and the world’s largest cross-sectoral, multi-disciplinary science, engineering and technology institution, IET. Together, the two organisations will spearhead an initiative to demonstrate how, through horizontal innovation, motorsport technology can be successfully exploited in parallel industrial sectors, such as the automotive, defence, aerospace and marine industries, to achieve significant commercial advantages for UK innovators.
The launch event took place at IET’s newly-reopened Savoy Place building on the River Thames.
To view the video click here and for the KWSP case study video click here.
