WHO would have thought the technology behind the paint used on a stealth bomber could help a pencil manufacturer improve production?

Yet stealth technology, in the form of ultra-violet curing, has been transferred to a Cumbrian pencil-making company, which was having problems fixing the surface finish to its pencils.

This is only one example of how military technology and scientific know-how have been used to help hundreds of businesses nationwide.

The Ministry of Defence established the Defence Diversification Agency (DDA) six years ago to help small and medium-sized companies take advantage of defence technology.

The DDA is in the process of launching its Exploiting Defence Technology (EDT) programme in the North-East, in partnership with the North-East Innovation Centre, in Gateshead.

The scheme, funding for which is allocated by regional development agency One NorthEast, aims to encourage at least 150 companies in the region to take advantage of military technology.

A spokesman for One NorthEast said: "Historically, defence spending has been highly important in economic development, but in the UK has also led to regional disparities in high-growth industries.

"There may now be the potential to work to address these issues and ensure our industries are not left behind as technology develops both now and in the future."

John Gates, DDA northern regional director, said: "The DDA formed as a result of the Baker Report, which reported that the Government would get more value for money by making its research in the UK available to industry.

"The DDA was therefore established as an interface between Government-funded research and businesses - a brokerage to give companies access to a wide knowledge base."

The DDA, which employs six people in the North-East and 65 nationwide, has access to all Government-funded research by defence and security experts QinetiQ and the Government's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.

"In our experience, companies are not sitting with technology problems searching for solutions, instead, they are sitting on opportunities for growth," said Mr Gates.

"We will work with a company intensively for about five days to uncover these opportunities, see what technology can be used to help it grow and then bring the company together with the technology providers.

"The companies we are dealing with are always in the driving seat. We simply make them aware of the opportunities and it is up to them if they decide to act upon it. We will help them every step of the way.

"There is a whole wealth of knowledge available for so many different types of business."

The DDA, which has offices in Sunderland and at the Wilton Centre, on Teesside, is a not-for-profit organisation.

The North-East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) is urging its members to attend a seminar in November to see how defence technology could improve their business.

"When we talk about defence technology, we are not talking about guns. What we are talking about is knowledge and technology that can be used to improve businesses and create opportunities for them to move forward," said Malcolm Ward, NECC head of membership.

"We feel that many of our members could get genuine benefit from this and save thousands of pounds in production costs by using the technology and the systems that the military use."

For more information about the seminar, contact Malcolm Ward on 0191-386 1133.

Michael McMeekin is managing director of Wisdom IT. Log on to www.wisdomit.co.uk

Published: ??/??/2005