Lee Hamilton

KTP Associate - Substrate and Print Development, Dycem Ltd

This post forms part of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) between Dycem Ltd and University of the West of England. The project is led by Stephen Hoskins from the Centre for Fine Print Research. The project aims to develop and enhance a new decontamination flooring range that has the capacity for incorporating digitally printed logos and signage into the company’s production to facilitate growth and entry into new markets - to find ways of printing customer logos, patterns, or advertising and marketing messages on the flooring.

This partnership will enable the company to create a premium product for new and existing customers. Part of the project is to build a dedicated, in-house design and print facility to enable on-demand print manufacturing. The printed flooring will be an eye-catching and innovative promotional tool for our customers to communicate marketing messages and will increase our profitability.

This new KTP is directly linked to CFPR's knowledge on inks and wide-format printing, and is a great opportunity to extend this experience for use on different substrates such as specialist flooring and textiles. The project is a great example of applying design knowledge in an industrial setting.
Lee has always been interested in design from an early age, giving particular attention to advancing technologies. In 2003 he was awarded the Stan West award for design and innovation and in 2008 he successfully graduated with a 2:1 from Brunel University in Industrial Design and Technology. During this time he had the opportunity to work with OTO 3D Ltd (an SME with a great reputation in design and prototype creation) and Procter and Gamble (a multi billion pound pharmaceutical organisation with top brands including Olay, Herbal Essences, Ariel and many more).

Furthermore, during the final year of his study he undertook a major project which involved producing a fully functional, ergonomically scaled electronic nightclub bar queuing system called “Qu-Bar”.

Dycem is a long established British manufacturing company with a strong reputation for quality and reliability in its two core markets. It produces contamination control products for use in clean room environments and non-slip ‘grip’ products for a range of applications. Today the company’s products are sold globally in more than 30 countries to many of the world's leading corporations through a network of specialist distributors and dealers.

Dycem remains a privately owned company with offices in England, USA and Europe. The enthusiasm and experience offered by both Dycem and the CFPR leaves Lee confident that he has embarked on an amazing opportunity where he hopes to work to very best of his ability, ensuring that the outcome of the project will allow Dycem to move forward into new and previously unexplored markets.
For the CFPR, he is positive that the project will provide new insights and processes in regards to contamination flooring and the subsequent printing techniques that will be developed for these substrates.

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships are Europe's leading programme helping businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills that reside within the UK knowledge base. Supported by a Government grant via the Technology Strategy Board, each partnership employs one or more high calibre Associate (recently qualified person) to work on a project, which is core to the strategic development of the business.