16th May 2023
As a business, we are focused on creating products that drive fire safety standards forward, and central to that is our commitment to innovation, research and development. To support our vision, over the past 18 months we have taken on a collaborative Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with Leeds Beckett University, giving us access to world class academic expertise, helping us to innovate and embed systems for lasting business growth.
Each KTP is project managed by a KTP Associate, a talented postgraduate who comes into the business on a full-time work plan. At ARC, this is Alex Boote, a post-doctoral engineering and innovation specialist, who has taken on the role of Product Innovation Manager. Since his arrival in 2021, Alex has been instrumental in bringing innovation to life and is responsible not only for innovative new products, but also for the implementation of new systems and frameworks that underpin research and development at ARC. He explains:
“My background is in engineering, but innovation is where my passion lies. ARC has been an amazing place to work and they really share my vision. Much of my first few months was about processes and frameworks, ensuring that we had systems in place to support new product development. Now we are seeing the fruits of that labour and with every new product we’re testing it is proving it’s efficacy.
“Ultimately, products are our legacy – making homes and workplaces safe in a fire event. To develop products that have a real impact the focus must be on innovation, testing new concepts to keep up with changing regulations and customer demands. This has been a driving force in our strategy. Take our latest product release – TCB Square. We have developed this product to specifically address customer sticking points and through rigorous testing, have made a cavity barrier that is one of a kind.
“My KTP experience has been fantastic, ARC is a forward-thinking and pragmatic manufacturer with a great team and lots of industry respect. They have given me a great deal of trust and empowerment since I joined and the partnership is proving to be a real success.”
ARC Commercial Manager George Danzey-Smith said: “Alex’s expertise has been hugely beneficial and has enabled us to take our research and development to another level. His knowledge is invaluable and he has played a crucial role in bringing a number of new and exciting products to market. The KTP has been mutually beneficial from the beginning with Alex able to put his research into practice, and I would encourage any innovative business to do the same.”
