Say Hello to Hartpury's Tech Box Park Members

From ambitious start-ups to established companies, discover a little more about some of Hartpury’s Tech Box Park members that are committed to finding solutions to real-world problems in the agri-tech industry. 

AJW Solutions (UK) Ltd is one of the South West's leading manufacturers of machined and fabricated products. It is using its membership to develop an environmentally friendly range of ‘Samboards’ Sensory Pads currently designed to reduce anxiety and stress for people living with ADHD, dementia, and explore how these products could be used by farmers and within the sphere of equine health.

Currently using smart technology to solve some of the biggest challenges in housing, Awaretag intends to partner its in house electronics and AI expertise with the Tech Box to apply their innovative ‘tech’ to help create the right environment for people and plants to the farming industry. 

BioStart Security, is the world’s most innovative anti-theft and driver identification solution for commercial vehicles. Using Hartpury’s commercial farm and machinery as a test bed, the company, a subsidiary of ProTrack Solutions Limited intend to use the Tech Box Park membership to showcase its artificial intelligence biometric technologies in a ‘real world’ agricultural setting.

 Leading experts in compostable materials since 2005, BioViron offers businesses a 100% plant-based, water-soluble, compostable packing foam – a zero waste and zero plastic solution to modern day packaging and shipping requirements without the carbon footprint.

Currently working across a diverse range of industries including pharmaceutical, furniture and museums, the company with sustainability at its heart, intend to use their membership to better understand the needs of farmers and estate managers.

Bridl, a start-up making the trade of sport horses easier, faster, and more transparent is the latest business to join Hartpury’s Tech Box Park. Bringing security and ease to the process of buying and selling sport horses online, the innovative Bridl platform helps professional and amateur riders worldwide purchase their ideal horse. 

With 330 horses currently listed on the Bridl marketplace across the UK, Europe and the USA, the digital platform enables potential buyers to review a horse at any time of the day and from anywhere in the world.

Steve Watts from CambridgeIQ is an entrepreneurial technologist, electronic engineer, and executive coach, delivering business results to clients through innovation, product development, business strategy and IP commercialisation. CambridgeIQ provides complete product development services. As well as technical development and business services, Steve provides 'technology translation' to help technical, commercial and leadership teams communicate effectively for business success. Steve is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Haydn Green Institute, Nottingham University and an executive coach and mentor. 

Founded by Joshua Elliott, Catenna, is a start-up organisation on a mission to revolutionise the way business and research connect. Described as a commercial playground for businesses and academics, the Catenna platform will connect the most relevant subject matter experts in universities with users from SMEs – fast tracking and bridging the gap between laboratory to marketplace, focussing on social impact and revenue opportunities.

Cavago, the world's first platform created for the horse world by horse lovers is an online web and app booking platform connecting riders of all abilities to equestrian adventures, horse breeds and experiences across the world.

With more than 60 million horses around the world, 500 different breeds and 120 different disciplines associated with them, Cavago’s aim is to become the go-to platform for the equine sector – the ‘Booking.com for the Horse World’. 

Paul Drabble, from Creating Business Growth (CBG) Ltd, has spent over 25 years creating new business growth strategies for food and drink companies worldwide. He has partnered and worked with many of today’s most recognised brands including Cadbury Schweppes, Coca-Cola, Ferrero, McDonalds, Shell, Tesco, and British Airways.

Established in 2004, the Rodborough based consultancy firm CBG Ltd has helped over 3,000 SMEs leverage the benefits of technology to unlock their competitive edge. Passionate about building and investing in Gloucestershire’s economy, Paul’s range of consultancy services include bespoke combined coaching, training, mentoring and consultancy.

Chronos Technology Ltd is a company offering deep specialist skills and expertise across a range of technologies including timing & synchronisation; smart solutions and related systems integrations and applications.

Based in Lydbrook in the Forest of Dean, the employee-owned business provides solutions across industry, with strong expertise in the broadcast, defence and security, energy, enterprise IT, finance, telecom, and transport sectors.

Working with every part of the dairy supply chain, Concept Dairy brings pricing transparency to the global dairy industry. Its mission is to transform the industry to create a fair platform where farmers choose what price they will get for their milk, processors are able to understand, quantify and manage their price risk with confidence, and dairy buyers receive efficiency and value.

The award-winning start-up, established in 2019 offers independent support and advice to help everyone in the dairy supply chain better understand risk, manage risk, and increase loyalty.

DronePrep, is a drone technology business dedicated to opening-up low-level airspace for responsible drone use. They support drone delivery projects across the UK via their innovative tech platform and Drone Delivery Register app, connect drone pilots with landowners allowing them to plan flights and create safe spaces in low-level airspace in which to fly. 

EcoversityUK is a community interest company dedicated to the development and success of the industrial hemp sector and curriculum. An organisation passionate about regeneration, it offers a wealth of knowledge on the socio-economic benefits that industrial hemp has to offer. EcoversityUK has joined the Tech Box Park to support local farmers in exploring the many uses of hemp and will soon be opening its doors to consult local farmers and businesses on utilising the crop to optimise sustainability and diversify outputs.

Delivering sustainable optimised crop performance, Emerald Research is a market leader in researching and developing ‘Next Generation’ plant nutrient, bio stimulant and biological products – using the latest formulation technology to ensure product activity is maximised during uptake by crops or availability in soils.

FHE Technology, is a supplier of IT, digital signage, and audio-visual equipment. With over 35 years’ experience working in the IT industry, Founder, Robin Cook prides himself on supplying PCs, laptops, servers, video walls, printers, and NAS systems for all types of businesses across Gloucestershire and beyond. Working from home at his base in Barnwood, Gloucester Robin hopes that his membership to the Tech Box Park network will open-up opportunities to help even more businesses with their IT requirements.

First Base Solutions Ltd, is a data technology company helping farmers increase crop yield and farm profitability. The company, established in 1994 will use their membership to showcase their ‘Live Farmer’ farm management software app to the region’s farmers and farmers of the future – Hartpury students.

Currently being used by growers and producers of fresh produce and plants with over 400 installations across Europe, UK, Australia and New Zealand, the Live Farmer technology is helping farmers better manage their farms.

Hills Design is an independent creative design agency based in Cheltenham helping ambitious companies of all sizes find that better balance in their branding. Working for the likes of Avon Cosmetics, Schweppes, Adidas, Procordia Foods and Heinz, the company pride themselves on the close working relationships they have with their clients.

Currently being used by growers and producers of fresh produce and plants with over 400 installations across Europe, UK, Australia and New Zealand, Live Farmer technology is helping farmers better manage their farms. The novel, cloud-based farm management system enables farm owners, farm managers, agronomists and packhouse managers to manage their farms in real time and use live data and costings to make better farming decisions.

Cirencester-based Mainstream Digital provides telecommunication and internet solutions for a diverse range of business types including health, education, finance, and the public sector. Their 35+ team pride themselves on being local and responsive able to offer businesses of all sizes voice, IP, digital, mobile and internet technologies. The company hope to use the Tech Box Park membership to open an exchange of ideas to see what in their portfolio could make life easier for farming communities.

Map of Ag’s vision is to be the most trusted global data platform connecting farms and industry. It's industry-leading data platform, Pure Farming, connects farm and agrifood sector data using a highly trusted permissioning and data management engine that puts farmers in complete control of their data. Our data platform provides the foundation to a number of our own proprietary and third-party data products used by farmers and the agrifood sector to measure, monitor and manage their businesses.

Fully independent, the company employs over 90 staff across its offices in the UK, New Zealand, and Australia.

Mindset4Success is a company passionate about helping people be the best they can be. Led by Kim Harvey, an Executive and Mindset Coach and Leadership Development Facilitator, the business has helped many corporates and SMEs install new ways of thinking over the last 25 years. Kim offers leadership and interpersonal skills training, coaching and strategic ‘big picture’ thinking as part of her 12-week ‘Empowering Leader programme’ that uses cutting-edge neuroscience to underpin learning.

Driving mobile innovation since 2001, MyOxygen deliver bespoke web and mobile apps and web development that improve the way people work and live. Already working with some of the UK's most trusted organisations, the MyOxygen team of designers, developers, engineers, and strategists build secure, scalable, flexible solutions that transform the way individuals and organisations work.

Big enough to work with some of the world’s most well-known brands, IT migration specialists Nero Blanco show large-scale global businesses with hugely complex migration needs that there is an easier way. The company has planned and implemented mega migration projects for large, dynamic organisations such as Wunderman Thompson, HSBC, Ernst & Young, Water Aid and RNIB. 

Novazera is a UK company that creates biodegradable plastic alternative products and ground-breaking anti-viral and bacterial coatings. They are passionate about making life safer with a range of highly innovative technologies aimed at utilising farming waste streams. Novazera’s Bio range of products are complemented with other technologies created with human safety in mind.

 With a proven track record of helping hundreds of people overcome personal barriers, Mark Griffiths founded Real Life Coaching International (RCLI) and Real Integrity Community to give others access to the same opportunities and prospects that took him years of self-exploration and determination to discover for himself.

The newest member of the Hartpury Tech Box Park community, RLCI currently works in partnership with multiple agencies and organisations across the UK to improve the quality of life for individuals and their communities. 

Robert Bilsland has worked in the software industry for over 30 years, first as a developer before moving into consultancy. In the spring of 2022, he set himself up as his own business so that he could use his wealth of knowledge and experience to help other agri-tech businesses better handle their increasing amounts of data. His career starting in development means that not only does he understand why data is stored and collected in certain ways but also how.

ProTrack Solutions Limited, specialises in market-leading innovative telematics, fleet management and security software solutions for all types of business. The Pro Track Group is a multi-award winning, family-run business based in the heart of Gloucester offering the UK’s most innovative vehicle tracking and fleet management system.

Samboards are UK manufacturers of a novel range of sensory products which help with Sensory Activated Motor-skills (SAM) designed to reduce anxiety, manage stress, and enhance the mental health and well-being of users.

Sustainable Business Design helps SMEs better understand and identify the environmental and business case for sustainability. They help discover how to drive change within an organisation and how to deliver on key benchmarks for a sustainable future. By collaborating with them, businesses will gain an understanding of why environmental sustainability is important and how an organisation can grow sustainably and make a commitment to achieve NetZero emissions. 

YAGRO, is a data technology company helping farmers make better business decisions. Champions for farmer-led data, YAGRO’s team of farmers, entrepreneurs, and technologists, are enthusiastic about making farming businesses healthier and more economically sustainable for the next generation.

Already partnering with farms covering nearly a million acres in the UK, the YAGRO range of products and services including real-time intelligent tracking of crop performance software helps farmers adapt to the future – providing them with the management tools and ‘on-farm’ data-driven insight to improve productivity.

All our Tech Box Park members and residents plan to use their membership to take advantage of the on-farm facilities at Hartpury and across its extended farming network to test and develop new products for the agricultural and land-based sector.

Hartpury’s Tech Box Park facility funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the GFirst LEP ‘Getting Building Fund’ and the Elizabeth Creak Charitable Trust is dedicated to enabling the growth of innovative local businesses looking to develop new or existing products and accelerate them into the Agri-tech market.

Visit www.hartpury.ac.uk/techboxpark to find out more.

Email catherine.briggs@hartpury.ac.uk to learn more about how you could take one of the last remaining, fully-funded places at the Tech Box Park.