Stopford Workshop – providing scientific and medical instrumentation services
Stopford Workshop offers bespoke design, prototyping and production services for research teams engaged in biomedical and scientific innovation as well as a rapid, cost-effective repairs and maintenance service for electronic laboratory instruments.
Business focus
Established in 2007, Stopford Workshop Ltd collectively brings more than 100 years of expertise to biomedical, academic and scientific research laboratories across the northwest, working with businesses and public sector research organisations across the biotechnology and medical devices sectors and effectively supporting capital-intensive laboratory and research processes.
Working closely with research groups in dentistry, plant biology, and tissue cultures they have identified new and innovative solutions, leading to patented technologies. The first instrumentation patent for a laser measurement device is ready for submission, and they are working on other research projects with The University of Manchester and northwest biotech companies.
Services
The UK medical biotechnology sector is the most mature within Europe, and is second only to the USA. 40% of public biotechnology firms and 17% of European biotechnology firms are located in the UK. Manchester and the northwest region constitute one of the leading locations in the UK for biotechnology and related industries. With over 200 biomedical companies in the region and extensive university and clinical research facilities, they have a healthy target market within which to offer their services.
Design, prototyping and production services cover:
- Preliminary assessment of ideas and feasibility studies
- Electronic and mechanical engineering design, construction and development
With a proven track record to substantiate research funding applications, they are allied to the Peak Group of Companies (www.peakco.co.uk ) to extend design capabilities through to manufacturing process.
They are currently working on design and prototyping projects in
- Bioreactor development for cell tissue culture growth
- Precision laser measurement for rotational 3D profiling
- Image processing calibration for X-ray and MRI scanning
- Stickiness measurement of biomaterials
Equipment repair and maintenance services include:
Over 25 years experience in repairing laboratory equipment including microscopes, electrophoresis equipment, power supplies, thermal cyclers, infusion pumps, water baths, incubators, growth cabinets, and computer-controlled equipment.
Clients include The University of Manchester, Peakco, New Brunswick Scientific, CME McKinley, Broadstone Mill, Imorphics, and Renovo.
Next steps
Stopford Workshop Ltd was formed following the closure of medical workshop facilities at The University of Manchester. Barry Gleave, founder and managing director of Stopford Workshop Ltd explains: “With huge demand for space in the University Medical School the decision was taken to close the Medical School Workshop in late 2007. But this decision gave us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a kind of ‘management buyout’. We teamed up and formed Stopford Workshop Ltd because we know there is a real commercial need for top-quality, specialist and cost-effective services like ours”.
Barry and his staff chose to locate their business in UMIC facilities because of the specialist workshop and logistics facilities the business required. “Broadstone Mill and the Stockport Incubator have given us exactly what we were looking for. We needed a large flexible space with a dedicated logistics and delivery capability, and we now have purpose-built workshops, offices and our own loading bay for customer equipment deliveries. But the business incubator isn’t just about space. The business support and advice we’ve been given is invaluable, and we’ve been able to network with all sorts of specialists that we would not have met”, says Barry.
"We aim to achieve ISO9001 compliance in 2009, enabling us to extend our customer base to include local hospitals and clinical facilities, and we are confident in being awarded patents for our own IP, enabling us to secure research funding and develop a manufacturing and product sales capability".
Contact:
Barry Gleave
Managing Director, Stopford Workshop Ltd
Broadstone Mill, Broadstone Road
Reddish, Stockport SK5 7DL
Office + 44 (0) 161 443 4190
