Information communicated by Member States regarding State aid granted under Commission Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises

(2003/C 195/12)

(Text with EEA relevance)

Aid No: XS 124/02

Member State: United Kingdom

Region: West Midlands Objective 2

Title of aid scheme or name of the company receiving an individual aid: Regional Technology Network: Warwick Manufacturing Group

Legal basis: Industrial and Development Act 1982, Sections 7 and 11; Industrial Development Act 1988 Reference Section

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company:

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Maximum aid intensity: The maximum aid intensity will be 50 %.

Aid to any one SME will not exceed GBP 100000.

The funding will be supporting SMEs which meet the definition in Annex 1 to the SME Block Exemption Regulation (EC) No 70/2001

Date of implementation: 1 December 2002

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: Until 31 December 2006

Objective of aid: Consultancy will be used to introduce SMEs to rapid prototyping as a design tool. They will be shown how the technology works, the different systems available, the building materials and the types of CAD format required to enable a rapid prototype build.

The intention of the aid is to make SMEs aware of the capabilities of rapid prototyping, while improving their design level. This will increase the level of innovation, efficiency and diversification in the region.

The project will give SMEs access to technology and advice beyond their normal financial capacity

Economic sector(s) concerned: All manufacturing sectors, without prejudice to special rules in regulations and directives concerning state aid in certain sectors

Name and address of the granting authority: Roy Huzzard Government Office for the West Midlands 77 Paradise Circus

Queensway

Birmingham B1 2DT United Kingdom Tel. (44-121) 212 53 42

Other information: Ivor Davies Warwick Manufacturing Group University of Warwick Coventry CV4 7AL United Kingdom Tel. (44-24) 765 729 91

Aid No: XS 91/02

Member State: United Kingdom

Region: West Midlands

Title of aid scheme or name of the company receiving an individual aid: Faraday Plastics - West Midlands

Legal basis: Industrial and Development Act 1982, Sections 7 and 11, and Industrial Development Act 1988, Reference Section 8

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: The scheme will provide the following funding to support SMEs over the period 2002 to 2006:

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The funding will support SMEs which meet the definition in Annex 1 to the SME Block Exemption Regulation (EC) 70/2001

Maximum aid intensity: The maximum aid intensity will be 50 %. The maximum aid to a single SME will be GBP 100000

Date of implementation: 15 September 2002

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: Until 31 December 2006

Objective of aid: To provide consultancy in order to facilitate knowledge transfer to SMEs in the West Midlands. Without assistance, SMEs would lack the technical skills and expertise required to exploit recent advances in polymer-based products. The project will enable SMEs to adopt new and improved processes as a basis for the future development of products that are more competitive in both traditional and new market places. This will in turn safeguard the jobs of SMEs in the region and encourage innovation and diversification

Economic sector(s) concerned: All manufacturing and other services, without prejudice to special rules, regulations and directives concerning state aid in certain sectors. In particular the project will not support the synthetic fibre industry

Name and address of the granting authority: Phil Howard Government Office for the West Midlands 77 Paradise Circus

Queensway

Birmingham B1 2DT United Kingdom Tel. (44-121) 212 50 68

Other information: Dr G F Smith Warwick Manufacturing Group University of Warwick United Kingdom Tel. (44-24) 76 52 37 84