Bristol based Ultra Global PRT has been selected to take part in an exhibition demonstrating the very best of British manufacturing this summer.
Beating competition from hundreds of UK companies, Ultra Global PRT will feature in the Government’s Make it in Great Britain exhibition at the London Science Museum during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
There Ultra will showcase its revolutionary pod transport system currently in operation at Heathrow Airport alongside other examples of the best of British manufacturing and engineering products, aiming to educate visitors about the value of manufacturing to UK business.
Developed by a team at Bristol University, the Ultra personal rapid transit (PRT) system is a new and innovative on-demand transport option that uses small, driverless electric vehicles that run on lightweight guideways, providing environmentally friendly and operationally efficient transport (see www.ultraglobalprt.com)
Introduced at Heathrow Airport in 2011 for client BAA, the 21 pod, 3.8km system, has carried over 370,000 passengers and received plaudits from customers, environmentalists and media alike.
The exhibition is the culmination of the Make it in Great Britain campaign – an initiative launched last year by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which aims to challenge outdated opinions and transform the image of modern manufacturing.
Ultra MD, Fraser Brown commented:
“We are delighted to be a part of the Make it in Great Britain exhibition, and feel very proud to be representing the manufacturing and engineering industry. This summer will be one of the most exciting that Britain has seen in a long time, and to be involved in this exhibition when all eyes will be on the UK is a wonderful thing.
“We are looking forward to helping to show the general public what innovation, technology manufacturing and engineering is really all about. We hope that people from Bristol, the UK and across the globe will come to the exhibition and see how many brilliant British ideas are out there.”
The opportunity to showcase in the exhibition was open to manufacturing companies nationwide, with organisers keen to raise awareness about the dynamic, advanced and innovative industry that exists in the UK today.
Business Minister Mark Prisk said:
“Manufacturing accounts for 8 per cent of total UK employment and well over half of export goods, yet current perceptions of the industry are out of date and do not reflect that reality. We have selected a really exciting mix of exhibits, and I hope that as many people as possible visit the exhibition and see all of the great examples of British design and manufacturing – it will be spectacular.”
Ian Blatchford, Director of the Science Museum commented:
“We’re incredibly excited to be hosting the Make it in Great Britain exhibition this summer. The Science Museum and its world leading collections demonstrate some of the greatest engineering achievements of the last 200 years. We hope that as many people as possible visit the exhibition, and see at first-hand how innovation in British manufacturing is still thriving today.”
The exhibition will be open from 24 July to 9 September, and is free to visit. For more information please visit www.bis.gov.uk/makeitingreatbritain.