Like many early-stage tech innovators, Ecobelt faced hurdles in scaling to achieve its global potential. Read how Greater Manchester’s innovation ecosystem provided the technical expertise, funding and collaborations to take on a global market.
Funding secured
Projected sales for next financial year
New jobs forecast
A Tameside company is helping industries cut costs and reduce waste with a breakthrough technology that makes conveyor belts last significantly longer. Starting life as a micro-business with two full-time staff, Ecobelt has drawn on Greater Manchester’s innovation and finance ecosystem to unlock new revenue streams, secure major investment, and lay the groundwork for international growth.
With a market-first AI platform nearing launch and over £500,000 in regional support secured, the business is forecasting £2.5 million in project sales in the next financial year and expects to create 30 new jobs within 12 months.
Cutting downtime and carbon
Ecobelt’s mission is to minimise the environmental footprint of conveyor belt operations in what is now a global market worth nearly $50 billion1. Its patented AnnStuMax® innovation reinforces the section where belt ends are typically joined – a common failure point – boosting durability by more than 15 times. For sectors such as logistics, manufacturing, and heavy industry, that means fewer replacements, less downtime, and measurable carbon savings.
“Conveyor belts are an essential part of everyday life,” explains CEO David Waite. “Indeed, the world would come to a standstill without them. When something is made, it has normally been conveyed. It’s essential, therefore, to extend the life of the belts for as long as possible, and that is exactly what we’re all about."
For David, it’s resulted in a multi-million-pound sales pipeline, a rapidly growing team, and international expansion: “The platform is already attracting interest from major warehouse operators, including potential future customers such as Amazon, who see value in its ability to reduce belt waste and improve operational efficiency.”
SME tech innovation support
The company is also developing a new web and mobile platform powered by AI, which is designed to give clients real-time insights into the state of their conveyor belts, and helping them to identify which belts could be repaired, repurposed or reused. As David says, “It will be a huge step forward for data-led maintenance, circular economy practices, and carbon reduction in material-handling environments.”
While the vision for this platform was clear, delivering it posed a real challenge with Ecobelt lacking the technical skills, resources and connections to move the project forward. The company turned to our Innovation Service, which worked closely with David and his team to shape the commercialisation plan, including how to bring in the necessary expertise and funding.
Russell Mansfield, Commercialisation Specialist at GM Business Growth Hub, played a hands-on role: “We worked side by side with Ecobelt to define the project and help find the perfect software partner to design and build the platform. We were also able to provide David with an Innovation Grant of £12,000 towards the £29,000 project cost.”
With new regulations around corporate carbon reporting being phased in across the UK and Europe, the platform will become a key part of Ecobelt’s value proposition. “The data captured will feed directly into clients’ carbon reporting tools, helping them quantify emissions savings,” explains David. “Thanks to this project, we’ll be able to give clients a much more comprehensive view of the belts they use every day. The result is that we’ll be able to increase the profitability of our existing operations, as well as open new revenue streams.”
Preparing for investment and scaling operations
With the technology side moving forward, Ecobelt turned its attention to operational scale: producing belts, supplying splicing kits, and delivering services at volume. But as an early-stage business without in-house financial modelling expertise, preparing for serious investment wasn’t straightforward.
That’s where GM Business Growth Hub’s Access to Finance team stepped in. Over several months, they helped Ecobelt develop and refine a robust financial model tailored to its growth ambitions. That model became the basis for a successful application to GMCA’s GM Advance fund and, in May 2025, Ecobelt was awarded a £450,000 flexible finance package that will support the next stage of growth.
“GMCA really listened to what we needed and structured the funding around the commercial reality of building the business,” said David. “It’s given us breathing space to focus on building capacity and meeting demand. But we couldn’t have done it without the support of GM Business Growth Hub, who helped shape our financial plan and made sure our application was investment-ready. Their insight and guidance were invaluable at a critical stage.”
Collaborative partnerships supporting growth
Ecobelt’s journey has also been further supported by scientific and R&D partnerships across the Greater Manchester innovation ecosystem:
- The Henry Royce Institute and the Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub at the University of Manchester provided technical validation and £37,500 in specialist support.
- An additional £25,000 UKRI Impact Accelerator grant supported development of the AI platform’s environmental functionality.
- Ecobelt continues to collaborate with the University of Manchester advanced materials R&D.
- The company is working with national and global partners, including the Department for Business and Trade, to prepare for international expansion.
The strength of the technology and the impact of the collaboration has not gone unnoticed. In November 2024, AnnStuMax won Ecobelt the prestigious ‘Sustainable Materials Innovation for Net-zero’ award from the Institute of Materials, Minerals Mining in November 2024. And in April 2025 the business was also nominated for the globally renowned Earthshot Prize, recognising its potential to tackle one of the world’s most urgent environmental challenges.
Ecobelt’s growth is a great example of how Greater Manchester can help early-stage companies turn potential into performance, connecting R&D, technology, funding, and commercial expertise in one joined-up journey.
If you’re a business with an innovative product or service and the ambition to scale, the support is here in Greater Manchester. Contact our team today to see how we can take your ideas to the next level. Call us on 0161 359 3050 or email bgh@growthco.uk.
Notes:
1 Conveying Equipment Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report, published by Grand View Research; accessed 17/7/2025
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