BUSINESSES are being urged to apply for a slice of a £189,000 grant cake to get them turned on to new technology.

The European funding is available to provide specialist advice to local firms to help them make the most of the latest information technology systems.

The scheme is being run in East Lancashire by IT firm Technopoly from its base at the Irwell Centre in Rawtenstall.

The project offers grants of up to 50 per cent towards consultancy fees and follows on from a previous EC funded programme which helped more than 50 East Lancashire companies increase their efficiency through the use of IT. One packaging firm which was spending £35,000 a year on couriers to show samples to a major client spent £5,000 linking both sites by video conference.

Another project involved a firm setting up a computer-based 'virtual shopfloor' to help managers get a better insight into production line hold-ups.

"East Lancashire companies need to increase their efficiency and improve their marketing to compete in global markets," said Kathleen Helliwell, managing director of Technolopy.

"New technology can help them do this and is now cheaper and easier to use than ever."

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