Something for nothing

At the recent Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA) annual forecasting seminar and AGM, held last November at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, Cambs, R&D Tax and Grants (01902 783172) was in attendance to explain that R&D includes more than you think it does. Indeed, founder Mark Evans says, on the firm's website (www.taxandgrants.co.uk), precisely this: that he set up the company because he saw a gap in the market "to help companies who do R&D and don't realise it". What's more, the company operates on a no-win, no-fee basis – it gets paid only if it saves you money. Now, for those that may have a jaundiced view of government help and those offering linked services whose success criteria amount to making a visit and ticking a box, that should certainly strike a more positive note. The company reported that it had, so far this year, saved companies around £1 million, with the average tax saving per company put at £40,000. Around six companies per month are being guided towards these welcome benefits. The hurdle for help is both size and turnover – fewer than 500 employees; annual turnover not exceeding €100 million; balance sheet not exceeding €86 million. So, to get to the main point, you don't have to be innovating a product to gain support; process innovation counts. And you don't need an identifiable R&D department or group. That means that, if you are an engineering company cutting or forming metal, you can benefit from R&D tax credits, which are, incidentally, a pan-European EU offering, so you can be sure that your competitors are trying to make best use of the funds, too. Now, process innovation isn't simply buying a new machine tool, of course; it is the application of in-house effort to improve a process to deliver something novel, above that which others are able to achieve by purchasing similar manufacturing technology. Pressing company HT Brigham, Birmingham, won tax credits by doing just this. Maybe you can, too. First published in Machinery, December 2009