Malvern manufacturing company's new factory officially opened by Harriett Baldwin MP

Recently Harriett Baldwin MP, Secretary of State for defence procurement, opened the factory of the Smart Actuator Company at Advantage Business Park in Spring Lane, Malvern.

The firm makes actuators which are machine components responsible for moving or controlling a mechanism or system.

The MP has been a supporter of the firm for a number of years. In 2011, Mrs Baldwin was one of the first people to see a demonstration of the firm's patented RIFT technology when the company began operating from a private house in Malvern Wells with just three staff.

The firm has grown to the point it is now employing 16 people, and is moving to the site so that is capable of expanding production, to meet growing demand.

The MP cut the red ribbon at the reception door to open the new facility, then enjoyed a tour of the new factory - becoming the first people to sign the visitors book.

During the tour she viewed the process involved in assembling and testing the actuators, and met the team at the firm.

James O’Donnell, SmartAct managing director who accompanied the MP on her tour, said: "Our team of people owe Harriett a big thank you for finding the time to come along and support us today.

"This is just the next step for us, we plan to invest up to £9 million to build a brand new, state-of-the-art factory and research and development centre in Malvern over the next few years.

"Hopefully, we can do that here on the Advantage Business Park but if not then we have two or three other sites as possibilities in the Malvern area."

Mrs Baldwin said: "This is another success story for a Worcestershire business which has brought new products to market based on game changing technology.

"Their continued success means more jobs and prosperity for our local community and I will continue to support them in whatever way I can in the future."

Most of the current SmartAct products are exported and this is likely to be the same for any new products looking forwards. We work closely with The Department of International Trade, local Chamber of Commerce and the British Valve and Actuator Association to ensure success internationally, nationally and locally.

The secret to the success of the SmartAct product range is collaboration with the right people and organisations as well as great technology. The core technology is lightweight, uses much lower levels of raw materials, is massively more energy efficient and reduces the carbon footprint by up to 75% compared to traditional designs for motors and generators. This means that we have both a great technologically up to date smart product that is also very environmentally friendly.

An actuator is a component of a machine that is responsible for moving or controlling a mechanism or system

One of the fastest growing Engineering Manufacturing companies in the Midlands The Smart Actuator Company (SmartAct) is a real success story. On Friday 27th January the company was delighted to welcome Harriett Baldwin MP, Under Secretary of State for Defence Procurement, to officially open their factory at Advantage Business Park in Spring Lane, Malvern.

MP Harriett Baldwin was one of the first people to see a demonstration of their Patented RIFT Technology in 2011 when the company began operating from a private house in Malvern Wells with just 3 people. From this humble start The Smart Actuator Company is now one of the fastest growing businesses in Worcestershire and has 16 people in their team.

The move to the new site gives The Smart Actuator Company the capability to expand production to meet growing demand.

Upon arrival. Harriett Baldwin MP cut the red ribbon at the front office and reception door before proceeding on a tour of the new factory. Harriett became the first person to officially sign the visitor book.

Harriett viewed the process involved in assembling and testing the SmartAct Actuators, and met a range of the skilled team who work to make the Smart Actuator Company a success.

SmartAct began by developing a new range of highly energy efficient actuators, or motorised valves. Now it is working on projects to extend the technology in to different applications which include traction drives for electric and hybrid vehicles as well as a range of electricity generators.

O’Donnell, who accompanied Harriett on her tour, and is the SmartAct MD said, ‘Our team of people owe Harriett a big thank you for finding the time to come along and support us today. This is just the next step for us; we plan to invest up to £9 Million to build a brand-new, state of the art factory and Research & Development Centre in Malvern over the next few years. Hopefully, we can do that here on the Advantage Business Park but if not then we have two or three other sites as possibilities in the Malvern area.’

Harriett Baldwin said, ‘This is another success story for a Worcestershire business which has brought new products to market based on game changing technology. Their continued success means more jobs and prosperity for our local community and I will continue to support them in whatever way I can in the future’

Most of the current SmartAct products are exported and this is likely to be the same for any new products looking forwards. We work closely with The Department of International Trade, local Chamber of Commerce and the British Valve and Actuator Association to ensure success internationally, nationally and locally.

The secret to the success of the SmartAct product range is collaboration with the right people and organisations as well as great technology. The core technology is lightweight, uses much lower levels of raw materials, is massively more energy efficient and reduces the carbon footprint by up to 75% compared to traditional designs for motors and generators. This means that we have both a great technologically up to date smart product that is also very environmentally friendly.