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Local company makes room for growth with sponsorship pledge
15/03/2023
Local company, Mercia Group, has offered the University of Wolverhampton firm support after sponsoring a room at its flagship School of Architecture and Built Environment at the £120 million Springfield Campus in Wolverhampton.
Mercia Group, based in Willenhall, West Midlands, specialises in a range of services including Cranes and lifting equipment, industrial doors, the supply of solar panels, battery storage and electrical wholesale and inspections and have just launched a range of consumable products. The company was founded in 1982 as a family business headed up by Don Mead and Ron Clarke, who sadly passed away in 2022.
Family members who run the company are committed to the shared vision of green housing, brownfield reclamation and environmental sustainability – the perfect partnership for the School of Architecture and Built Environment and National Brownfield Institute (NBI).
The company has pledged over £50,000 to support various projects across the University, including the University of Wolverhampton Racing Team's Praga R1, and the £5,000 per year sponsorship of a room at the School of Architecture and Built Environment. This five year agreement further cements the relationship between the University and the company.
The official opening of the room was attended by Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, and Jane Stevenson, MP for Wolverhampton North-East as well as key University academic staff including the Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Professor David Proverbs.
Don Mead, CEO of Mercia Group, said: “This is a big milestone for the company. We’ve grown over the years and have formed a group of companies and we are now an industrial engineering company that can offer a variety of services. The response we’ve had from the University has been second to none, every direction they’ve pointed us in has benefited us massively. We are also really pleased to be working with them on a carbon neutral energy research project which has enormous potential for providing alternative energy sources in the future.”
Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “It was great to be back at Springfield again. Whenever I visit, I’m reminded what a wonderful place this is - and what a strong example of Levelling Up it represents. Today is about celebrating the close collaboration between the worlds of business and academia – driving forward innovation that supports economic growth and job creation for the benefit of local people.”
Jane Stevenson, MP for Wolverhampton North-East, said: “This whole campus is becoming a super charged innovation hub in our City and that’s fantastic. When we get local businesses firstly being so inspiring by diversifying, showing resilience in difficult times and still being able to plan and invest in research, it shows a wider social responsibility that has to be encouraged and it’s really important to celebrate this kind of responsibility to our communities.”
Professor David Proverbs, Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering at the University, said: “We were delighted to welcome everyone to the School of Architecture and Built Environment for the official opening of the Mercia Group Room. This kind of collaboration between business and academia is vital to the region. We can see, first hand, how partnerships like these can keep opening doors, allowing companies to flourish and diversify whilst at the same time allowing research to cultivate yet more innovation. We’re very grateful to Mercia Group for sponsoring this room, supporting the next generation of architecture and built environment professionals on their student journey.”
The new School of Architecture and Built Environment offers specialist teaching and social learning spaces, design studios, specialist labs, multi-disciplinary workshops, lecture theatre, cafe, offices, meeting rooms, ICT rooms and a top floor super studio with double height ceilings.
The School offers a variety of courses that support skills in architecture, construction, civil engineering, building control, building services, facilities management, quantity surveying, planning, construction management, housing and commercial.
Home to the Thomas Telford University Technical College (UTC), the University’s School of Architecture and Built Environment, and the Elite Centre for Manufacturing Skills, the regeneration of the former Springfield Brewery is central to the University’s vision of enhancing the student experience and supporting business growth. It is also home to the University’s new National Brownfield Research Institute for which the University recently secured £14.9 million funding from the BCLEP through the government’s Get Building Fund.
Anyone interested in courses being offered at Springfield Campus should check out the website or register for one of our forthcoming Open Days.
ENDS
For more information please contact the Corporate Communications Team.
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