Johnstone Phoenix Theatre Group – Jack and the Beanstalk
November 20, 2011Santa comes to Dobbie’s Garden Centre Paisley (eventually)
November 23, 2011A Renfrewshire company that sparked interest from Hollywood star Tom Hanks over its latest hi-tech project has welcomed a rising star at Holyrood.
Derek Mackay, MSP for Renfrewshire North & West, visited award winning product design company Meso Design at their Renfrewshire HQ.
The fast growing company was formed in 2008 by three design engineering graduates – Danny Kane, Gregor Aikman and Craig Lynn – and now employs 12 staff at its base in Inchinnan.
Since its launch, Meso has worked on more than 40 projects for clients across a range of sectors, including food and drink, medicine and consumer products.
Its latest collaborations include Popa, which transforms the iPhone into an instant camera, and MoviePeg, an easy to fit stand that allows users to watch movies on any smartphone and tablet device. Both products were developed by Manchester based Beep Industries with design support from Meso.
Another product, a portable camera dolly for film makers, designed on behalf of Paisley based Glidetrack, is due for release in the next month.
Meso’s growing client list of high profile clients includes SECC, Glasgow School of Art, Whyte and Mackay, Famous Grouse, Thales and Courvoisier.
And from next year, Meso intends to design, manufacture and market its own range of products, and expand into new premises in Renfrewshire.
Meso director Danny Kane said: “We were delighted to welcome Derek Mackay to meet the team at Meso. We’re a relatively small company, proud of our association with Renfrewshire, and ambitious for the future. We’d like to think that, in our own small way, we’re helping to establish Renfrewshire as a centre of excellence for product design and manufacture.
Derek Mackay MSP said: “I am thoroughly impressed by the work that Meso are doing, and from what I have seen during my visit, it is not surprising that there has been strong demand for their services and products.
“Renfrewshire is increasingly becoming a fantastic place for business growth and success, attracting business from both the local area and from further afield.
“This is a thriving local company, I’m pleased to see them expanding into new premises to support their growing business and I wish them all the best with their future success.”
Meso director Craig Lynn added: “This has been an exciting year for Meso and we have worked on some truly innovative projects for a wide range of UK and international clients. We will continue to provide product design support for our diverse client portfolio, but we are also increasingly looking to develop our own exciting range of products, designed, manufactured and marketed entirely in house. That is a big transition for Meso, but it’s a challenge we relish”.
The team at Meso recently won a Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce ROCCO Award for Innovation and Technology.
Chamber chief executive Bob Davidson this week praised “Meso’s youth, attitude and truly innovative approach and way of working” and described Meso as a “young company in Renfrewshire with big ambition, global reach and great potential.”
Earlier this month, it was revealed that Oscar winner Tom Hanks had expressed an interest in Popa. Several units of the device have now been shipped to the star’s base in Hollywood by developers Beep Industries.