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THE FIRST TWELVE YEARS

van Helsing Limited was formed in 1995 in order to provide business development services and tools to technology based companies both large and small. In the delivery of services we make use of new media and e-Business. We offer services in situ at your premises or remotely by electronic interchange. Our practitioners have a wide range of experience in winning, developing, managing and marketing ICT-based R&D applications in both the civil and military markets here in the UK and overseas.

Our interventions are undertaken in knowledge-rich environments in both the private and public sectors; they effect organizational culture change and the results manifest themselves in improved operational effectiveness and sustained business growth.

 
1995 Our company was founded by a group of ex-Ferranti International technology and business development specialists. Our immediate aim was to link world-leading technology/business processes with local organisations. The goal was to stimulate economic growth and as such we worked extensively with the Welsh Development Agency (WDA), then regarded as the premier regional development agency. > The newly formed van Helsing Limited wins a Technology and Innovation contract with the Wales Innovation Relay Centre to support Welsh companies in their EC bids for Framework IV Process Improvement Experiments.
1996
At Cebit'96 On behalf of the WDA we heightened the profile of many technical companies from Wales by encouraging and supporting them as participants on the WDA's stands at overseas exhibitions. These exhibitions included CEBIT (Hanover), COMDEX (Las Vegas), Asia Telecom (Singapore), NEPCOM (Kuala Lumpur), GBOC (Osaka).
     
1997 Due to the background of VHL's practitioners, we have a particular interest in working with and encouraging software companies from both technical and marketing perspectives. Our involvement with the Massachusetts Software Council when Wales was the focus country provided insight to the conception and growth of software companies.      
1998
The New South Wales delegation 1996 - 1998 saw us organizing a series of international business-business meetings and visits. Participants have been both private and government sponsored. Inward missions have included: New South Wales, GCS Pty, Intercel Pty, Utah Department of Economic Development, KDR Pty, British Embassy and Consulate from Tokyo and Osaka. Visit to Maritime Dynamics
   
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1999 1999 saw a change of emphasis for van Helsing Limited to providing community based interventions in large private organizations and multi-national consortia utilizing the extensive experience of van Helsing's practitioners.   November - Managing Director of van Helsing Limited wins Welsh Woman of the Year in Science and Technology
      December - van Helsing Limited teams up with Anglo Danish Consortium to produce innovative food safety product
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2000
In parallel, we began to invest in the use of ambient intelligence and e-working tools to aid in quality and safety. The SaFES team lead by van Helsing Limited was awarded EC Framework 5 funding for prototyping an e-work food safety tool. R & D projects have now become a significant part of our portfolio. Link to our EC Research Involvement
  November - SaFES consortium wins EC funding to project coordinate the demonstration of an e-commerce solution to food safety
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2001 During 2001 and 2002 the majority of our effort was concentrated on SaFES and our community based interventions. Much of this was in development of the design for the SaFES Knowledge Management / Software tool and its evaluation. As Project Coordinator, a considerable amount of time was spent with project meetings, concertation and of course EC paperwork!   July - van Helsing Limited's Managing Director is awarded the Chancellor's Medal at the University of Glamorgan in recognition of her distinctive contribution to Enterprise and Wealth Creation in Wales
    October - van Helsing Limited presents a paper [Abstract] at the European Commission's New Methods of Work and Electronic Commerce Conference - eBusiness and eWork 2001, at the Telecom Italia Future Centre, Venice
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2002
Link to the SaFES trial Report The SaFES trial concluded successfully in 2002. Van Helsing's intellectual property interests in the tool lead to discussions on its commercialization. It was decided that one of the project partners experienced in the food industry would lead the commercial exploitation.
  April - First Minister announces Janet Wademan, VHL's MD is part of the line-up for his new Economic Research Advisory Panel (ERAP). The panel will recommend a rolling programme of economic research to help inform the Welsh Assembly Government's economic policies
      October - van Helsing Limited presents a paper [Abstract] at the European Commission's New Methods of Work and Electronic Commerce Conference - eBusiness and eWork 2002, in Prague
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2003

The community based interventions continued, while effort was being applied to the wider application of the work done by van Helsing during the EC project.

Meanwhile our commercialization partner was busy extolling the virtues of the SaFES tool, considerable interest being generated in France and Mexico.

  May - Our MD's Inaugural Professorial Lecture brings the reality, power, potential and threats of ICT home
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2004 Our pioneering work in the private sector was recognized by the Welsh Assembly Government with an invitation to our MD to serve on the first Improvement Board within a Welsh local authority. This is an innovative approach to process improvement in local government - where in Wales a supportive model was chosen over the more radical interventions used elsewhere in the UK. We thus extended our work with community based interventions to the public sector.   March - Janet Wademan has been asked to share her Organisational Development Knowledge with the Local Government Sector: an Innovative Intervention to achieve fast yet sustainable results
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2005 Between 1999 and 2005 our advisory role to multinational companies has resulted in their winning significant contracts with NATO and MoD. The knowledge management techniques and SECI process that we apply has left a legacy of sustainability via a fully fledged Community of Practice within their organizations.      
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2006

An interesting contract this year has been with the Wales Innovators’ Network, an initiative supporting innovators to translate concepts into commercial realisation. The knowledge economy depends on a steady flow of innovation and creativity.

  June - Janet Wademan is one of seven members to be appointed to the newly formed Ministerial Advisory Group spanning the portfolio for economic development and transport in Wales.
  We in van Helsing have worked for many years in creating IT based products from raw ideas and enjoy the privilege of passing our experience on to this talented group of inventors.   November - The Chartered Management Institute, the leading organisation for professional management makes our M.D. a Fellow in recognition of her key role in management.
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2007     March - Van Helsing addresses national conference exploring the role that technology can play to facilitate collaboration and organisational learning.

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Page Origin:
4 Dec 1999
 
Last Modified:
25 Jan 2013
© van Helsing Limited 1999 - 2013