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Young aims to guide tech start-up to maturity

Written by Ben Fountain

Friday, 28 March 2008

Cambridge-based Camcon Technology, the developer of the digital valve is gearing up for a commercial push following an investment from former Trade & Industry Minister, Lord Young of Graffham. Camcon's Danny Chapchal has a good track record with Lord Young The move will see Lord Young join forces once again with tech veteran Danny Chapchal, with whom he worked on a number of early stage tech start-ups including CDT, the Cambridge based polymer OLED firm acquired late last year by the Sumitomo Corporation for £142m.   Although precise figures are not being released, a company statement said that Lord Young would "invest sufficient sums to give the company the capital it needs to complete its current development programme and see the introduction of Camcon products into the market." Camcon said the new investment will enable it to focus its efforts on the oil and gas sector, where it says it has already established strong relationships with a number of partners.   Outside of the oil and gas sector, Camcon will focus on developing licensing and manufacturing partnerships. The company expects to announce an agreement with a manufacturing partner in the medical market within the next month and agreements in the automotive and aviation markets will follow, it says. Camcon describes its digital valve as the first fundamentally new approach in the control of liquids and gases since the Industrial Revolution. The high-speed, low energy consumption and long life characteristics of the Camcon binary actuator make it suited to a wide range of applications, including use in oil reservoirs and vehicle engines.   Lord Young, who will take on the role of chairman, while former chairman Chapchal will adopt an operational role in the business as CEO.   “Camcon has extraordinary potential as Lord Young’s investment demonstrates. The challenge for the business moving forward is to focus on the oil and gas market. Outside of this market, we are seeking to develop manufacturing and licensing partnerships,” said Danny Chapchal, CEO, Camcon.   “Camcon’s digital valve technology could be as fundamental to engineering as the transistor has been to the electronics industry. Danny will bring renewed focus to the company and seek to commercialise the technology in the oil and gas market as quickly as possible,” said Lord Young.   Camcon Technology licenses its technology to customers, typically on a field-of-use basis. The company develops pre-production prototypes for customers on a consultancy basis and then hands over designs either to its customers to manufacture in volume, or to a manufacturing partner.     Set as favorite Bookmark Email This Hits: 304 Trackback(0) TrackBack URI for this entry Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Write comment This content has been locked. You can no longer post any comment.

 

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