Optare has received a conditional offer of funds from the fourth round of the government’s Regional Growth Fund (RGF) which could be worth up to £1.5m.
The RGF supports projects and programmes which create economic growth and sustain private sector employment. Optare is one of 102 firms, whittled down from 309, which have been selected to receive a conditional offer.
Glenn Saint, Optare Deputy CEO, said: “The funding, if received, will assist in our export sales drive through boosting our research and development capabilities, and is likely to lead to more jobs at our Sherburn plant and increased overall security for the business.
“We’ve been clear that our strategy is to use our market leading technology as a base for new products aimed at export markets in Europe and further afield. With the support of the global marketing resources of our parent company, Ashok Leyland, we can grow our export penetration thus lessening our dependence on the highly competitive British bus market.”
