Innovative Kelso business welcomes £45k in grant support from South of Scotland Enterprise
ThermaFY, a thermal imaging company based in the Scottish Borders, has welcomed a £45k grant from South of Scotland Enterprise through the Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund.
The business (whose work is focused on innovation around thermal imaging reporting software), saw their main income stream suspended directly due to Covid. The crisis fund has enabled them to keep their business running throughout the Covid-19 crisis, but also provided funds to develop new ideas.
During lockdown, this innovative team quickly realised there was a gap in the market, and they developed their technology to fit with demands for a post-Covid personal wellbeing product. The new application is able to check, record and alert any temperature changes in staff in a discreet and appropriate manner, allowing early indications of potential virus and further health checks to avoid spread.
Amanda Pickford, Founder and CEO of ThermaFY said:
“when Covid-19 struck we saw that we were going to have to make some drastic changes as our current business plan flew out the window, our customers could no longer trade, and there was nowhere for us to go.
“We looked at how we could adapt our thermal analysis software to work in other industries or areas that were not so severely affected by the lockdown. We found an opportunity to develop our analysis to detect disease in cattle, looking for raised temperatures to identify a change in the cow’s health pattern. But it needed one of our customers to reach out to us and say “do you have a solution that will detect raised temperatures in people with Covid-19” for us to come up with the new product.
“The Pivotal Resilience Enterprise Fund was a lifeline for us, as cash was critical for us to be able to take advantage of new opportunities.
This has led to a pilot of our new scanning station in 2 hospitals with Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust, with plans to rapidly roll out across the UK.
“I am hugely grateful for SOSE who supported us to bring our application to market, with the award of the grant. I want to show them that their belief in us was well placed, as we strive forward with these new opportunities and try and support companies to safely return to work and get the economy moving again.”
Professor Russel Griggs OBE, Chair of South of Scotland Enterprise said:
“We are delighted we could make this award to ThermaFY and help them to not only survive, but adapt and grow.
“We understand this has been a hugely challenging time for many small and medium-sized businesses across the South of Scotland, and as the enterprise agency for the South of Scotland we are committed to doing everything we can to provide support wherever it is needed.
“ThermaFY has the potential to make a quick and strong recovery and has significant growth potential over the coming years. They are already providing high quality employment opportunities. I personally thank them for their individual contribution to their community and to the Scottish Borders.”