Our Collaborative Space is Open for Business

Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc’s (MSIP) flagship £5m Innovation Hub and Café has officially opened in Dundee this week.

The Innovation Hub, designed by Holmes Miller and constructed by Robertsons Construction Tayside, is a key part of MSIP’s regeneration of a former manufacturing facility into an Innovation Parc focused on tackling climate change.

The Innovation Hub, which includes Silva Spoons Café, is fully accessible to the Dundee community, after a successful launch event last week. The Hub is the focal point of the Innovation Parc.

Dundee City Council secured £3.5M of funding to support the Innovation Hub from the Tay Cities Deal Industrial Investment Fund. The Innovation Hub has also been funded byScottish Enterprise and Michelin.

MSIP, a joint venture between Michelin, Dundee City Council and Scottish Enterprise, is a world-class Innovation Parc in Dundee focused on sustainable innovation, which aims to drive growth and diversity in the Scottish economy whilst addressing the global climate emergency.

The Innovation Hub is located at the main entrance to the Innovation Parc, creating a space to support and drive collaboration and innovation. Core facilities include co-working space, meeting rooms, a large events space and design labs, that can all be hired for a variety of needs.

Silva Spoons Café, located within the Innovation Hub, is open Monday to Friday, serving a breakfast and lunch menu for both those located at the Innovation Parc as well as the wider community. There is a range of informal seating areas within the hub to enjoy.

The Innovation Hub will hold its first event today (8 November), welcoming around 80 attendees at CEED Scotland’s latest Trading Zone™ event.

The Innovation Hub has been built with its carbon footprint in mind, with a Glulam (glued laminated timber) and CLT (cross laminated timber) structure used in place of a conventional steel construction, saving an estimated 715 tonne of carbon dioxide.

Sarah Petrie, Operations and Innovation Director, MSIP said: “This is a huge step in our journey at Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc.

“The Innovation Hub is a place where industry, academia and government can come together and thrive, to enable innovation, growth and advancements in sustainable innovation.

“With the Hub and Cafe now open for business, I can’t wait to welcome innovators, businesses, learners and the community to find out more about this amazing space, to hot-desk, meet people and host events.”

Gregory Johnston, CEO and Owner, Silva Spoons Café said “We are so pleased to have been selected as the food operators at MSIP Dundee. This is our first Silva Spoons Café, which we launched this year. 

“Silva Spoons Café is part of Silva Service Catering Ltd. which is a family run business that was launched in 2020. We started off by catering for local private events ranging from buffets, large events and sit-down meals. Some of the large events we catered at included being subcontracted to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022,  the Golf open 2023 and the Royal Ascot.

“My wife’s maiden name is E Silva and we wanted to incorporate that into the business with a play on silver service bringing all our patrons a high level of service and quality catering. Today we opened our first establishment, Silva Spoons Café, and we look forward to bringing our services to the Dundee community and businesses. Our doors are open to everyone at the Innovation Parc as well as the general public, we offer a variety of healthy and convenient breakfast and lunch options in a warm and relaxing environment. We also offer catering for external events.”

Scottish Enterprise Director of Innovation & Place, and member of the MSIP Board, Derek Shaw said: “The Innovation Hub has been designed to be the heart of MSIP and it is fantastic to see it now open and ready for business.

“It was a real honour to be able to look round the hub and witness at first-hand how Scottish Enterprise’s £1.45m contribution helped ensure the completion of this hugely impressive facility.

“I know Scottish Enterprise as a whole, including the colleagues who work at MSIP, is excited to see it become a thriving powerhouse of ideas and collaboration that will fuel the future low carbon economy.”

Dundee City Council leader, Councillor John Alexander, said: “The opening of the Innovation Hub is another important milestone in the transformation of the former Michelin site.

“Driving innovation in low-carbon transport and sustainable mobility is at the heart of the MSIP mission. And innovation – across a huge range of disciplines from life sciences to net zero technologies – is something we do really well here in Dundee.

“I look forward to the creativity and collaboration this new facility fosters playing a part not only in creating jobs and prosperity but also helping to address the global climate emergency.”

Kevin Dickson, Regional Managing Director, Robertson Construction Tayside, said: “To be involved in the creation of the flagship building for MSIP as part of its overall vision in the transformation of the parc from manufacturing to innovation has been a pleasure.  The innovation hub, delivered for MSIP through Procurement Hub, Major Projects Framework not only sees a sustainable energy efficient innovation hub, but an entire project that has played a significant role in community wealth building for Dundee and the surrounding Tay Cities geography.  

“Throughout the transformation of the parc, the construction element of the project has been undertaken by a predominantly local supply chain and has generated 8 new starts in employment, supported 24 apprenticeships and hosted 35 work placements. There have been significant environmental benefits too with 99.95% of waste being diverted from landfill. 

“We wish MSIP every continued success as it now secures tenants for the parc who will benefit from the high-quality environments that have been created.”