Mayor’s growth service backs robotic firm’s plan to create new manufacturing jobs

Birmingham may be landlocked and more than a hundred miles from the sea, but it was the region’s reputation for backing innovators that convinced Shahid Mughal it’s the best place to develop an amphibious, ocean-going robot.

Shahid runs Tyseley-based Innvotek, which develops robots to carry out maintenance tasks in challenging environments. The company’s latest invention, named Amphibian, is specifically designed to clean and inspect structures deep under the ocean, saving time, money, and reducing the need for potentially dangerous underwater work for human divers.

Equipped with powerful lights, high-definition cameras and hi-tech sensors that map corrosion and inspect joints, it also has high-powered water jets to blast off unwanted debris such as barnacles and algae.

Innvotek Ltd – the technology firm led by Shahid – is now working with Mayor Richard Parker’s business advice service, Business Growth West Midlands (BGWM), to secure the funding needed to scale Innvotek and get Amphibian into production. The partnership is also supporting the Mayor’s wider growth plans to create more hi-tech manufacturing jobs for local people. 

Shahid was one of the spotlight speakers at an event at BT’s offices in Birmingham, organised as part of the West Midlands Business Festival (2-13 February).

Shahid said: “I came to Birmingham Tech Week just after Covid and was blown away by the level of innovation and support across the West Midlands. With six universities on our doorstep, it felt like a great place to develop our technology.

“Through Business Growth West Midlands, we found a great base at Tyseley Energy Park and have been introduced to some fantastic advisers to support us with navigating the next phase of our growth plans. 

“We are also working with organisations like the Manufacturing Technology Centre on the development of our next generation platform to tackle some of the most difficult challenges on the planet.

“Being based in a landlocked city has meant we’ve had to think outside of the box when testing Amphibian, combining our own makeshift facilities with specialist testing such as the Offshore and Renewable Energy Catapult in Blyth.

“But we’re now moving from R&D into commercialisation, with a focus on raising investment to scale the business and create some great jobs here in the West Midlands.”

The Mayor said: “This region has always backed innovators like Shahid and that’s not going to change. It’s their drive and determination that will get our economy firing on all cylinders, but they can’t do it alone.

“My Business Festival is about bringing together ambitious companies and entrepreneurs, with academics and other experts, so they can make new connections and find out how I can help them to succeed and create jobs and opportunities that will benefit everyone.

“Last year’s festival was big, but this year’s is already bigger and better with more events and more tickets booked. That tells me businesses know, just as I do, that our region has huge, untapped potential and the best way to unleash it and grow at pace is by working together.”

It’s been a remarkable journey for Innvotek Ltd since it was set up almost 15 years ago as a research and development consultancy, working on projects with the likes of Network Rail to monitor the safety of bridges, and Northumbria Water to design a vibration sensor that detects wet wipes in sewer pipes.

Post-Covid, the company used its expertise to pivot into design and manufacture of its own technologies and relocated to Tyseley Energy Park from Cambridge in 2024.

Innvotek Ltd is one of hundreds of companies involved in this year’s West Midlands Business Festival, which is organised for the Mayor by BGWM, a service coordinated by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and delivered in partnership with local councils.

Almost 5,000 tickets have already been booked for 120 events taking place until 13 February. That tops last year’s figure, cementing the festival’s status as one of the region’s biggest and most influential annual business-to-business events.

The theme this year is Growth Without Limits – championing growth for all by unlocking opportunity and supporting ambitious businesses to succeed and scale, ensuring fairness and sustained progress across the region.

Monday’s opening event was hosted by PJ Ellis, and heard from Shahid Mughal, Rachel Butler, founder of children’s role play centre Pippatopia in Smethwick, and business growth strategist Daniella Genas. There was also a live recording of BGWM’s The Growth Room podcast with Kavita Parmar, founder of Word360, a Birmingham-based translation and interpreting company.

Highlights of the second week of the festival include: