Cutting Industries
Managing Director, Mark Smiley, Dunmurry, Belfast

The Benefits:
Generation of new orders to a minimum value of £10,000 per year. Net Present Value* to the company of over £8,000.

The Company:
Mark Smiley established Cutting Industries in 1997. The company specialises in the manufacture of rubber and foam products and the conversion of these materials into specialised shapes. The company, whilst relatively small, is the only volume manufacturer of gaskets in Ireland.

The Project:
An MTP Field Officer arranged a visit with the company and explained the services provided by MTP and the Partner organisations. The Field Officer offered suggestions in order to expand the customer base and introduce new materials to the company. In particular he had identified a market for rubber shapes in the transformer industry, but he needed to be able to demonstrate that the properties of the product met the specification of the customer. Specifically, the customer needed to know and be assured of the level of neoprene incorporated in the rubber and the resistivity of the product.

Making it Happen:

  • MTP
  • Invest NI - Innovation Credit
  • Invest NI - Innovation Credit
  • Queen's University Belfast - A.S.E.P.

The Field Officer organised a meeting with the ‘Analytical Services and Environmental Projects’, (ASEP) department at Queen’s University to test for the level of neoprene. The School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering was then brought in by the Field Officer to test the resistivity of the rubber. MTP recommended that the company use the Invest Northern Ireland sponsored ‘Innovation Credit’.

The Result...
The information provided by Queen’s University was instrumental in generating new orders at a minimum value of £10,000 per year. The calculated Net Present Value to the company is over £8,000. Several new customers in the mainland now use rubber insulators from Cutting Industries and these companies are likely to continue purchasing in the future. Manufacture of gaskets for pipe work is increasing and enquiries for considerable quantities have been received. In addition, automated die cutting has contributed to lower production costs. Mark Smiley was delighted with both the assistance provided by MTP and the expertise provided by Queen’s University.

Mark Smiley: “MTP has been very helpful to Cutting Industries, both in terms of obtaining information and identifying sources of expertise. MTP staff react quickly to queries. The work carried out by Queen’s University was invaluable to the company, and furthermore it was affordable, particularly for a small business.”