Romax Technology Opens New HQ at University of Nottingham’s Innovation Park

Romax Technology, a specialist company in gearbox, bearing and driveline simulation and engineering, has officially opened the doors to its brand new £5.6m head-office at the University of Nottingham’s Innovation Park (UNIP).

Marking its 25th anniversary in existence, the new, purpose built 3100m2 facility incorporates offices, a training suite and laboratory space and will also give Romax space to grow in the future, creating more jobs and growth for the region. In addition to this, Romax’s continued desire to promote green energy across its portfolio will see this reflected in the new building.

As well as aiming to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating for the project, Romax has incorporated environmentally friendly building technologies within its move such as sustainable construction techniques including biomass heating, building heat recovery and reuse, waste water recycling, solar shading and a biodiverse green roof.

The move to the new site further demonstrates the continued success being seen at Romax. Recently named as one of the top 1,000 British businesses for innovation by the London Stock Exchange, Romax has rapidly expanded its simulation technology and drivetrain design business, growing at a rate of 30 per cent over the past three years.

Andy Poon, CEO of Romax commented: “Our move into the new building represents an exciting future for Romax – it is the first time we will be able to house all our UK operations under one roof and the significance of this will be vast. We can further expand in all areas of the business, accelerating the driveline design and development process from planning to manufacturing and continuing to reduce costs with our right first time approach to engineering.”

Poon also stresses the importance of remaining in the East Midlands, particularly the relationship it has with the University of Nottingham: “Strengthening the East Midlands is very important to us and was a key decision in us locating to the new site. We have strong connections with the University, which provides us with the ideal opportunity to work alongside strategic partners on the latest innovations, technologies and processes that benefit the economy.

“We originally estimated that this would lead to the creation of 100 new jobs but we are actually confident that it will be much more, which is not only fantastic for us, but also the region as well, and ensures we are able to have access to talented people who can further strengthen our business and the wider community.”

The University of Nottingham’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor David Greenaway, said: “This is a very exciting moment for us. We have enjoyed a longstanding partnership with Romax over several years, collaborating together on a number of research projects. Its decision to remain in the region and locate to our Innovation Park is a testament to the strength of that relationship.

“The opening of the Romax Technology Centre is the latest phase in the rapid development of the Innovation Park. In recent years we have launched new technology centres in aerospace, energy and geospatial engineering and, next year, we will be opening our GSK Centre for Sustainable Chemistry.

“I also feel that it is very fitting that Romax has decided to base itself at the University of Nottingham Innovation Park, as they are now situated on the same site as Sturmey Archer, which produced gears for the likes of Raleigh. Romax is maintaining Nottingham’s reputation as one of the world leaders in the design of gearbox and driveline systems.”

The new building was officially opened by, Lord Mitchell, Enterprise adviser to the Labour Party and serial entrepreneur, who also gave praise to the strength of the relationship between Romax and the University of Nottingham as well as highlighting the importance in its decision to remain in the East Midlands: “The East Midlands is really flourishing at the moment, strengthening its position as a world renowned centre of excellence and innovation. Investment in the region is creating jobs and building an environment for even more growth, challenging big cities such as Manchester and London into not only retaining but attracting investment as well as the best and brightest in the workforce.

“Companies like Romax sit at the forefront of the success stories coming out of the East Midlands. Its commitment to driving innovation alongside its partners, such as the University of Nottingham, reaffirms its desire for excellence across technology and innovation, and that will only grow further with this move.”