Silver Fox, a niche and innovative manufacturing company which received £100,000 from the Hertfordshire Business Expansion Grant Scheme (BEGS), has hosted a visit from the Secretary of State for Transport.  

Grant Shapps unveiled a new specialist printing press, among a range of other machines, at Silver Fox’s production site in Welwyn Garden City on 24 June. 

Silver Fox is a leader in its field, with its cable, wire, and pipe labels used by many sections of the industry, including Network Rail and Transport for London (TfL). It is also the only carbon negative manufacturer in its sector, promoting sustainable production in line with the Government’s net-zero ambitions. 

The new printing press, made by Nilpeter, which measures over 10 metres length, is uniquely configured to meet the growing needs of an expanding market and an expanding product range. It will allow Silver Fox to address inquires with even more rapidity and help to make them even more competitive across the globe - with everything made in-house. With increasing demand both in the UK and Internationally, Silver Fox will now support its growing customer base across the globe, ensuring increased sales and staffing to drive this growth. 

Nitin Dahad, Chair, Enterprise and Innovation Board, Hertfordshire LEP, said: “BEGS was set up by Hertfordshire LEP to provide SMEs with grants towards investment in capital equipment. We are delighted that the £100k grant has contributed to the phenomenal success of Silverfox through the purchase of a label printing press and associated tooling and wish them every success as they expand their capacity to provide innovative cable labelling services in the county and beyond.” 

Silver Fox’s Managing Director, Nick Michaelson, said: “It was fantastic to welcome our local MP, Grant Shapps, to visit our site in Welwyn Garden City, and to showcase our facilities. These new machines, allied to our increasingly knowledgeable and skilful local workforce, will further help us grow our presence in our niche market of labelling solutions – as well as cement our place as the UK’s only carbon-negative manufacturer of cable labels.” 

Grants of between £10k – £100k were made available via the BEGS scheme to incentivise SME investment in capital equipment (ERDF and LEP funded, managed by the LEP and Hertfordshire County Council, with due diligence support from Hertfordshire Growth Hub and Finance South East). 

A total of 50 applications were received, resulting in 40 grant awards being made.  36 grant offers were accepted and are all progressing.  Awards totalling £2.5m were made to 34 companies in nine of the ten districts in Hertfordshire.  28% of awards went to North Hertfordshire; 21% to Welwyn Hatfield and 14% to St Albans. The average grant award was just over £72,000.  In total, the scheme will deliver: 

·         147 new jobs 

·         Attract £3,832,569 of private sector match funding 

·         Introduce 21 new to firm products; and 

·         Create 2,500m2 of additional commercial floor space 

The visit to Silver Fox was part of Railway Industry Association’s Rail Fellowship programme and aimed to highlight the ongoing work of the rail sector in generating employment, skills and prosperity. 

Secretary of State for Transport, the Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP, said: “The rail supply sector is rising to the UK’s economic and environmental challenges, exporting, innovating, and upskilling in a sustainable way.  

“Silver Fox is a shining example of this, and their innovation in cable labelling is not only winning business in world markets such as North America, India and Vietnam, but also providing increasing employment opportunities at home.”