Discovery Park Enterprise Zone in Sandwich scored a century this week when it signed its 100th tenant.

Start-up healthcare technology company Quvium is the latest tenant for the science and technology park. The company develops and manufactures sensors worn by asthma sufferers, which indicate when an attack is likely, allowing the wearer or their carer to manage their condition.

Based in Boston in the United States, Quvium secured a £500,000 loan from Expansion East Kent, part of the Regional Growth Fund programme, enabling it to bring the product to the UK market. 20 full time jobs will be created.

Company CEO and founder Steve Schmidt, who is father to an asthmatic child, said, “Bringing our sensors to the UK presents a huge opportunity for us and we’re delighted to make Sandwich our UK home. Like other manufacturing, science and tech industries, we feel we are ideally placed here to maximise our potential in the UK and Europe. Discovery Park provided the right mix of infrastructure, resources, and collaborative opportunities, making it the obvious choice.”

Paul Barber, managing director of Discovery Park said, “Achieving our 100th tenant is a significant milestone for Discovery Park, especially when you consider that the site only had five tenants when we took it over two years ago.

“Once again, our world-class facilities have attracted a really innovative company to locate with us, where they can benefit from their close proximity to likeminded industries. The addition of 20 new jobs is fantastic news too and we look forward to welcoming Quvium.”

Local Growth Minister Penny Mordaunt said: “I’d like to congratulate Discovery Park on reaching this milestone. The enterprise zone really is going from strength to strength and the fact that a US company like Quvium, who could have gone anywhere in the world, has chosen to base its new operation in Kent is testament to Discovery Park’s reputation as a world-class centre for science. That is why we have invested millions of pounds in developing this zone. It’s part of a long-term economic plan that is creating jobs and driving forward local economies.”

Investment promotion agency Locate in Kent identified and worked with Quvium to facilitate the company’s decision to base themselves at Discovery Park. Paul Wookey, chief executive, commented, “Quvium’s decision to locate at Discovery Park is excellent news for East Kent’s regeneration and boosts its already impressive science and technology credentials. We identified the lead and worked with the company over the past two years, building the relationship during a series of visits. We were also able to support the company’s decision-making by introducing them to contacts at the NHS and others and provided them with funding advice.”

The success of Discovery Park in reaching this milestone reflects the ongoing progress across the Enterprise Zone programme which recently announced the creation of over 12,500 jobs, attracting over 400 business and generating over £2 billion of private investment.