Public Funding for Trc Engineering Ltd

Grape bunches can contain a variety of large debris, such as spiders, webs as well as pathogens such as viruses, bacteria and molds (and the toxins that they produce). These can present a number of different problems, including: • Accelerate rotting of fruit & reduce shelf life - 47% of grapes are affected at end of life by rots and molds (MMUK data); • Represent a human health hazard; • Generate economic losses in excess of £39 mpa for retailers and wholesalers throughout the UK; through produce losses between packing & sale and replacing customer punnets where unwanted debris (eg. dangerous spiders/webs) or rotten fruit is present; • Cause waste of up to 12,900 tonnes of grapes per annum between packing and consumption (MMUK data & WRAP, 2008). Our aim is to develop a novel technology which will recognise and remove debris from grapes as well as kill micro-organisms which may cause fruit rotting and decreased shelf life. It is envisaged the benefits of the technology will include: • Extension of grape shelf life by 2 days; • Reduce grape waste by 50% between packing and sale (5,250 tonnes per annum if GrapeWash is adopted by the entire UK grape market); • Reduce CO2 emissions by 1,575 tonnes per annum through reducing grape waste.

Injection moulding is a major global industry, with around 8000 companies across Europe employing tens of thousands of people; many of these companies are small and medium sized enterprises. Injection moulded plastics are used in production of complex and intricate shaped parts for precision with least waste. However, according to AMI Consulting (reported in Jan 2015), Western Europe has seen the closure of more than 27% of its moulding sites since 2005 due to poor global economic conditions. Although the value of the industry has been slowly recovering and is expected to be worth a global £111bn by 2020 (Allied Market Research, 2016), AMI’s analysis suggests that overall the number of moulding sites in Europe will be further reduced by another 2% by 2018 as moulders continue to struggle against a number of problems, particularly 'original equipment manufacturer' price pressures. Our aim to meet this global problem is to develop our novel injection moulding solution, which will aim to: • Reduce cycle time by 50%; • Reduce energy usage by 33% through reduced heating/cooling; • Increase machine productivity by 100%