HMG Paints named amongst Innovation100

HMG Paints Ltd, the UK’s largest independent paint manufacturer, has been recognised as one of the 100 most innovative companies in Greater Manchester, in a report produced by BQ and the Business Growth Hub, part of The Growth Company.

This new initiative is designed to shine the spotlight on some of Greater Manchester’s most forward-thinking small and medium sized businesses.

"Innovation is a way of life, really,” commented John Falder, Managing Director of HMG Paints.

"Practically, at its most fundamental, innovation is a way of being; a way of thinking.

"And it’s a way of looking at everything you do, whether it’s a product, a system, a process, and looking at it from a slightly odd standpoint: not ‘how clever are we?’ but the opposite – how can we substantially improve, develop, change, alter what we do and the way we operate?”

Innovation is at the very heart of helping businesses to succeed and grow.

It is key to building a sustainable and growing economy, and can be recognised not just in products and services but also across management processes and business operations.

There’s a myriad of examples within HMG Paints, and the industry overall.

"We’re involved in a lot of automotive colour styling.

"That work, you might think, would involve colour – but we make blue paint without any blue pigment.

"We make green paint without any green pigment.

"We’re using interference pigments and interference layers, creating the same effect as a butterfly’s wing, to create totally unique styling situations for automotive and the future of objects that don’t exist yet.”

Firms recognised come from right across the Greater Manchester region, and represent sectors as diverse as food and drink, manufacturing, healthcare and digital.

The report was also supported by Dehns, Catax, the University of Salford and the Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banking Group.

Across Greater Manchester alone, Innovate UK has provided funding for over 600 innovation projects since 2004.

BQ’s Bryan Hoare said: "We’re delighted to give companies the chance to see some recognition for the hard work they put into innovation in their businesses.

"Innovation is the key to unlocking future growth, job creation and prosperity for the region, and what these businesses are already doing is incredibly impressive in lots of ways.”

Chris Greenhalgh, head of innovation at Business Growth Hub, said: "It’s our aim with Innovation100 to raise the profile of those businesses innovating in different ways, inspiring others to innovate and achieve growth.

"What the Innovation100 companies underline is that while innovation can often be related to products, it can also apply to developing disruptive business models, applying new processes and delivering new services. Innovation is across many different facets of business, across different sectors and different sizes of companies.”