Carfulan Group’s Advanced Innovation Centre (AIC) provides industry-leading solutions for manufacturers across the UK and Ireland. The technology hub based in Foston, Derbyshire, is home to a wide range of the very latest technologies available in 3D Printing, Multi-sensor Metrology and Advanced Tool Pre-Setting.
The AIC has been developed with both the Carfulan Group partners and customers in mind. The air conditioned facility is temperature regulated to ensure machine performance is optimal at all times. By assuring that the environment is unchanging within the AIC means that it can support product Research and Development (R&D), training and testing as well as a wide variety of showroom facilities.
The company’s Managing Director, Andrew Fulton wanted to create a place where customers can visit, whilst also offering the group’s team state-of-the-art training with the latest innovations in manufacturing technology.
He explains: “The advanced innovation centre is designed to further develop staff and customer training ethics, innovative skills and the advancement of pioneering development and testing.”
“Our new centre has enabled the Carfulan Group to double the size of the existing facility allowing us to increase our workforce from 22 to 40 people.”
The centre was built after the family-run business acknowledged their need for a space that represented the Carfulan Group as well as their partners, whilst enabling the group of companies to grow and thrive.
Recognising the need to showcase their existing partners’ first-class solutions, whilst offering current and prospective customers the opportunity to learn, innovate and improve their production and manufacturing efficiency, the Carfulan Group discovered a local Government-lead scheme- the Derby Enterprise Growth Fund (DEGF).
Ran by Derby City Council, the fund was able to support the Carfulan Group’s growth plan by putting forward twenty million pounds through a Government-supported scheme (Government’s Regional Growth Fund), whereby the City Council aims to support local business growth and create employment opportunities in the area through either loans or grants.
With this, the Carfulan Group has been able to welcome visitors, offering demonstrations using their vast variety of proven solutions, carefully selected with the ultimate aim of improving customer product performance.