Tokheim’s Dundee facility secures £1.3m R&D project for Scotland

The news comes on the day after Paul Wheelhouse MSP, Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy, visited Tokheim’s Dundee facility to recognise its innovation investment.

Tokheim manufactures fuel dispensers for a global client base, with its Dundee site recognised for leading product development and process innovation across its parent group. As a result of this innovation investment, the company expects the new product to produce growth in turnover by securing existing and new business with their global customers.

The company’s new fuel dispenser product will adopt a modular concept design, allowing different parts of the pump to fit together more easily, creating more flexibility and allowing for a more fit for purpose range of pump production. It will involve a redesign of all three of the pump’s key elements, including the hose management system, the electronic calculator and user interface and the hydraulic engine module. Tokheim anticipates the move will help the company maintain its competitive position in the current retail fuel marketplace.

Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy Paul Wheelhouse said: “We are committed to investing in the development and application of research, innovation and technology as well as supporting entrepreneurial activity, all of which are crucial in shaping Scotland’s future and helping to create sustainable economic growth.

“I was delighted to visit Tokheim, a successful Scottish company that is using innovative methods in its approach to manufacturing. I hope that the funding that we have announced, along with their own investment, will lead to more opportunities for Tokheim to grow and expand their place in the market, in which they are the leader.”

Tokheim works intensively with Scottish Enterprise through its account management approach, which ensures tailored support is identified and provided at the right time to the company to accelerate its growth.

In recent years, Scottish Enterprise has focused on supporting the company across various areas such as securing investment, leadership and management development, and Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service efficiency projects.

The company has also worked with Scottish Enterprise to develop its first innovation strategy programme, which now underpins the company’s growth plans. The strategy integrates the various ways in which the organisation generates and acts on new commercial and marketing ideas to develop new products and services, and fully embeds workplace innovation to create the most innovative environment for all employees.

Jim Watson, Innovation and Enterprise Services Director at Scottish Enterprise commented: “As Scotland’s innovation agency, we want to encourage more innovation in all companies as it leads directly to commercial products and services. It’s even more important for Scotland’s oil and gas sector as innovation will open up new revenue streams.

“Earlier this year we we prioritised £10m to help more oil and gas companies reduce the risk of investing in R&D. Tokheim is a great example of how innovation can drive future company growth opportunities and we wish it every success with its latest R&D project. “

Ken Scobie, General Manager at Tokheim UK Limited stated: “We’re at an exciting stage in our development as a company and look forward to working alongside Scottish Enterprise to help us launch our new product. We’ll be continuing to focus our efforts on improving design, efficiency and increasing product diversity. Dundee has proved to be a strong location for our innovation and development and we look forward to reaping the benefits from our latest investment.”