 Topping Out Ceremony
Thursday 23rd December, 2004
The construction program for the Core Technology Facility reached a significant milestone on Friday 17th December.
December 17th, 2004
Core Technology Facility; Topping out
Core Technology Facility: Status of Construction- Topping Out Ceremony
The construction program for the Core Technology Facility reached a significant milestone on Friday 17th December.
A topping out ceremony was held with the building contractors as hosts, the clients, University of Manchester Incubator Company (UMIC, the Universitys Incubation management company).
Gerry McKinney (Project Manager, HBG Ltd., Contractors for the project) escorted a small group of dignitaries to the top of the building, including Professor Rod Coombs (VP Innovation and Development, University and Chairman of UMIC), Martino Picardo, General Manager UMIC and Project Director, Linda Magee (Bionow Director, NWDA), Tony Edge (Project Manager, NWDA), Ian Jackson , Finance Director and others.
The ceremony comprised the tightening of the final screws holding one of the roofs structures in place (pictures provided), followed by a reception at the Incubator. At the reception, Martino thanked the contractors for their efforts to date and the anticipation felt within the clients organisation at receiving the completed facility on time and to budget, in December 2005. Martino also acknowledged the role played by the funders (NWDA and ERDF, through the North West Universities Association (NWUA) in supporting this project. Rod Coombs confirmed the uniqueness of the facility and the concept of having academic research very much aligned with commercial activities and in particular incubation of Biotechnology and Hi-Tech businesses.
The Facility is a four storey building that has been designed to house two floors of Commercial activity associated with the current Incubator, and to provide grow-on space, conferencing facilities and some technical services back to what we hope will be a continually growing Biotechnology and Hi-tech community locally and in the North West region. In addition, there will be two floors of University research activity associated with both the Faculties of Life Sciences and Medicine. The North West Development Agency (NWDA), European Regional Development Funds (ERDF) and the University of Manchester fund the project. The agreed programme was for 86 weeks, completion being scheduled for September 2005.
Martino Picardo (General Manager UMIC) and Gerry McKinney (Project Manager, HBG Ltd.) on the Plant area floor of the new CTF building currently under construction, celebrating the Topping out milestone.
Members of the CTF project team including (from left to right) Gary Mather (Buro Four, Project Management), Tony Edge and Linda Magee (NWDA), Ian Jackson, Finance Director, (The University of Manchester Intellectual Property Ltd., UMIP), Martino Picardo (General Manager, University of Manchester Incubator Company, UMIC), Martin Conway and Prof. Rod Coombs (University of Manchester), Colin Fowler (UMIC).
Attendees at the Topping out included Richard Sagar (Partner, Fairhursts Design Group, lead architect), Linda Magee Head of Bionow, NWDA), Martin Conway, (Executive assistant to the VP of Innovation, University of Manchester), Ian Jackson (Director of Finance, The University of Manchester Intellectual Property Ltd.) and Prof. Rod Coombs (VP Innovation and Development, The University of Manchester).
Construction contractors (HBG Ltd.) were appointed in November 2003 and came on site in February 2004. Work has continued at a steady pace. The frame of the building is now almost complete and an anticipated date for the building to be water-tight is February 2005. In addition, work has progressed quickly on the front of the building that will house conferencing, meeting rooms, catering and office space on the first floor.
With all this in mind, we now anticipate a construction completion date of October 2005. However, we are now in a position to initiate the fit-out of almost the entire building. The University will be gin fit-out of the top two floors in February 2005. Manchester Incubator Company Ltd. will begin fit-out of the first floor in March 2005. This then will complement the fit-out of the ground floor areas, which was already scheduled as part of the construction programme.
Because of the magnitude and complexity of the fit-out schemes. It is likely that although construction will be complete in the fall of 2005, that we will then have a fit-out completion phase and the testing and commissioning of the building prior to being open for business. We now therefore anticipate the CTF being open for business in January 2006.
With regards to other matters, the Incubator building is currently at 80% occupancy and we are currently managing the graduation of Intercytex (moved to Innovation House, Wynthenshawe) and F2G Ltd. (moved to Eccles) and are currently seeking other tenants. Chimatica moved into laboratory space this year. Of course, we have also welcomed the UK Biobank to our facility in this fiscal year.
The merger of the University has resulted in the creation of The University of Manchester Incubator Company (UMIC). This company (100% owned by the University, Chairman, Rod Coombs, VP Innovation and Economic Development, university of Manchester). UMIC will manage both the Bioscience Incubator, CTF as well as the North Campus (ICT) Incubator and an Incubator development at Central Park, East Manchester.
Further details can be obtained from
Martino Picardo
General Manager
University of Manchester Incubator Company Ltd.
  
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