Technium Challenge Winners Bringing 70 Skilled Jobs To Wales

This year’s winners of Technium Challenge, the national and international competition aimed at generating inward investment for Wales, have confirmed they will be bringing at least 70 skilled jobs to Wales.

Oxford-based start-up company Madison Animal Health (MAH) and USA innovators Roomlinx have scooped the UK and International Technium Challenge Prize for business innovation and have immediately set their sights on setting up permanent bases in one of Wales’ world-class incubation centres.

The Technium Challenge, established in 2003, has become a worldwide high profile business planning competition, which identifies and supports innovative businesses with high growth potential to invest in Wales. The global competition is organised each year by International Business Wales (IBW) and Technium UK, and will give this year’s winners Madison Animal Health and Roomlinx a passport to open an office in Wales.

In addition to office space, Madison Animal Health and Roomlinx will receive an impressive business support package worth over £4,000 in legal, marketing and business advice.

International Technium Challenge winner Roomlinx from Colorado, which specialises in providing in-room Interactive TV products for hotels and resorts, beat six international entries, including finalists from South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and India.

The future potential for Roomlinx’s innovative interactive TV solution was what swung the result for the judging panel, as it provides hotels and their guests with unparalled content and amenities that far exceed the industry’s current ‘Video on Demand’ offering.

Vice President for Sales and Marketing of Roomlinx, Bob Wagener, said on collecting the top prize: 
“We are absolutely delighted to win the International Technium Challenge for 2009. Although our Roomlinx Interactive TV product has received a great response, we are still a relatively small company facing the standard challenges of introducing a new product.

"The combination of Technium guidance and free office space for a year will make our introduction into the UK market that much easier and give us a greater understanding of the cultural and academic nuances of the industry over here.

“From day one we have always said it is imperative that Roomlinx fosters an educational culture. From the executive level to the developers, we need to be in touch with emerging technology and applications and being in an environment with like-minded technology companies will certainly aid us in our future development. We recognise the benefits of a relationship with Technium and the guidance that can be provided to grow in the United Kingdom and beyond.”

Roomlinx is currently an approved supplier to Intercontinental Hotels Group and has just announced that IBM will include Roomlinx as the in-room entertainment provider for IBM’s ‘Hotel-in-a-Box’ (HIB) solution.

Roomlinx is targeting a ten per cent market share of hotel rooms in the UK prior to the 2012 Olympic Games. The support staff needed to install, service and populate the program is projected at 50 or more employees all of which will be employed in Wales.

UK winner Madison Animal Health is a specialist animal pharmaceutical company focussing on drugs and vaccines to treat and prevent companion animals and aquaculture diseases. For Managing Director, Justin John, the appeal of the Technium Challenge competition lay in being able to ‘road-test’ the business back where he grew up:

“When we found out about the competition we were just starting to put together our business plan, so it was a great opportunity to put our ideas in front of experts within a ‘protected’ environment.

“Having the chance to launch our company in Wales is fantastic news as the resources and support available for start up technology companies is unrivalled in the UK. Wales doesn’t just talk-up the need for innovation to drive a new knowledge-rich economy it has found a model to deliver it and this is something we can’t wait to be a part of.

“The biggest draw for us, are the links with local academia, as Swansea University has the best aquaculture research centre in Europe. By developing a close relationship with them, we can continue our investment in R&D and look to recruit locally, which will help retain the skills base within Wales.”

Welsh Assembly Government Deputy First Minister, Ieuan Wyn Jones, congratulated the companies:

“Both companies stood out from the beginning, especially in terms of their business proposition for expansion into the UK market. We look forward to following the progress of these exciting and forward-thinking enterprises as they look to build a sustainable business here in Wales.

“Technium is an idea that was born in Wales but is now recognised across the world as a model for incubating companies, which is something to be very proud of. Bringing together like-minded talents from similar markets under one roof is reaping rewards and is proving to be a true catalyst for progress and prosperity.”

For information on next year’s competition and details of how to enter, please visit www.technium.co.uk/challenge.

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01 July 2009