A young Fife company making impressive progress in sub-contract
electronic manufacturing believes the region can have a bright future as a medical technology hub.
John Cramb and Gavin Howe set up Bay Solutions Scotland in in 2013, at a premises in Dalgety Bay.
Applying their 50 years of design and management experience in electronics
manufacturing, their business made a turnover of £92,000 in the first year.
Orders poured in and the 2016 revenue grew to £482,000 with a pre-tax profit of £90,000.
Bay opened a second manufacturing premises in Glenrothes and has added seven more staff to give it a workforce of nine.
With prestigious ISO certifications for the quality of its service, Bay carries out all stages of electronic mechanical assembly, from advice in new product design to component procurement through to product completion and testing.
It also provides a logistics service, exporting its customers finished products all over the world.
Its specialisation in the manufacture of medical devices secured work for the snap40, the wearable monitoring device developed by former Dundee University medical student Christopher McCann to help hospitals quickly pick up signs of patients’ deteriorating health.
After receiving £2 million in funding from investors led by Par Equity, snap40 is completing a major clinical trial at a UK hospital with the aim of going on the market in early 2017.
In another sector contract, Bay is manufacturing surgical instrument tracking technology for real-time objective performance feedback for Edinburgh based EoSurgical.
John believes Fife could create a medical hub whereby businesses could collaborate to create a new industry for the Kingdom.
“Electronics and instrument engineering is one of five sectors that make up two-thirds Scotland’s exports, and we have scope to build on this,” he commented.
“I believe Fife has an opportunity to capture the market for medical new product development and manufacturing with support from Fife Council and Fife Business Gateway.”
Committed to the local workforce, Bay has three staff from Opportunities Fife, a government funded recruitment programme for 16-25 year olds not currently in education or employment.
John said: “I have grown my career here in Fife and am committed to providing our young people with the same opportunities.
“Fife is a good place to do business, both logistically and also in terms of the quality of people available.”
Bay’s founders are also keen to support British companies, as John explained: “Britain has a good reputation for producing high quality products, particularly metalwork.
“It is difficult to compete against China for mouldings and plastics but there is something reassuring about sourcing raw materials closer to home. It also makes good business sense.”
