Ex-DEFRA Secretary of State’s praise for Performance Projects’ agritech innovation

Silverstone Park business Performance Projects received valuable airtime when BBC Radio Northampton and South Northamptonshire MP Andrea Leadsom visited its premises to discover more about the latest innovative technology it has designed.

Mrs Leadsom spent an hour looking over and taking the controls of the company’s electric, autonomous ‘GoFAR’ rover which, also using Performance Projects’ OxDrive e-hubs, transports fruit from orchards to dispatch vehicles – thereby saving time and physical exertion for human pickers on farms.

During her visit, she chatted at length with Performance Projects’ directors Chris Horton and Terence Goad before all three were interviewed by BBC Radio Northampton reporter Martin Heath.

His follow-up report was aired four times to an estimated cumulative audience of 250,000 households.

Mrs Leadsom, the former Secretary of State for both Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) departments – and who was briefly in the running to become UK Prime Minister – had plenty of praise for Performance Projects’ GoFAR.

Andrea said:

“It’s fantastic, particularly because it specialises in off-road.

“To go around a field, this type of tech is essential as farms are looking to improve their own carbon footprint. I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of take-up.”

Chris Horton commented:

“Government support for innovation is critical to help SMEs develop incredible new technologies. The visit by Andrea Leadsom was really important to Performance Projects.

“Our GoFAR and OxDrive agritech products are outcomes of some of her initiatives at BEIS and DEFRA, so it was an opportunity to show the results of the support, as well as to present some of the challenges faced in taking an innovation through to commercialisation.

The BBC Radio Northampton interview was a great chance to discuss and demonstrate how our GoFAR and OxDrive products help address ‘net zero’ and labour challenges in farming.

“Hopefully it resonated with the farming community in the region – we extend an invitation to anyone with interest to get in touch to find out more.”

Meanwhile, Mrs Leadsom also highlighted how the UK government is helping to support ‘great new ideas’ to attract funding via bodies such as Innovate UK and the venture capital markets.

Currently Chair of a back bench MP committee focusing on BEIS, Mrs Leadsom added:

“Yes, there is more that can be done to help get them (businesses) to scale up to get beyond the initial idea, into a saleable product, and then into the marketing and export of that idea.”

And Mrs Leadsom continued:

“Performance Projects is a fantastic example of people who’ve had a great idea, and who have the skills to turn it into reality.

“Now what need in the UK, but also very importantly at Silverstone, is the support for them to scale it up, market it and win contracts and so on.

“And we do see it at Silverstone, whether it be businesses making high performance wheel hubs for bicycles at the Olympics or making composite materials for lightweight sunglasses and suitcases, for example.

“So there is brilliant stuff that goes on here and Performance Projects are doing something really valuable for the food and farming sector in the UK and I wish them great success with it.”