A SUCCESFUL Lancaster University department has been given a £1 million grant to help engineering and manufacturing companies in Lancashire and Cumbria.

The engineering department - rated the third best in the country - has been given the money by the European Regional Development Fund.

It will be used to set up a two-year 'Lancaster Product Development Unit' which will enable local firms to benefit from new virtual prototyping and product development technologies.

Using computer aided design technology, the process develops new and revised products by testing software models, rather than constructing prototypes and committing to full production.

Project manager, Dr Allan Rennie, said: "The project should enhance the collaboration and communication of small-to-medium-sized enterprises as suppliers with the larger organisations which they are supporting in their supply chains.

"By bringing them into line with the technology and practices of these larger organisations, product development times will be significantly reduced, allowing for the seamless flow of data and information.

This in turn will reduce the development costs, and should improve the design quality prior to full production - making things 'right first time!' The university should gain significant industrial links and knowledge about real industry requirements, allowing for excellent collaboration both now and in the future."

Interested local manufacturing companies with less than 250 employees should contact Dr Allan Rennie at the LPDU on 594298.