Boss in desperate plea to save robotics firm

THE boss of promising robotics company Wootzano has appealed for urgent funds in a race against time to save his business.

- TOM KEIGHLEY Business writer

Scientist Atif Syed founded the Tyneside-based maker of automated food packing systems in 2018 and has gone on to quickly grow it, winning work around the world with multi-million pound orders from as far afield as the US and Japan.

Now the firm which has developed its own sensor technology that is ideal for the delicate handling of fresh food is facing winding up following a petition from Government-owned agency Innovate UK.

The entrepreneur says Wootzano has been his life's work and has more than £570m of contracts on its books, with scores of jobs on the line. After weeks of efforts behind the scenes, including through the Supreme Court, Mr Syed has gone public about the major threat to Wootzano’s future which has seen its bank accounts frozen, meaning it is unable to instruct lawyers to challenge the petition on its behalf.