Cabcare Products – Eligible R&D projects going back two financial years
Cabcare Products Limited (Cabcare) are a leading designer and manufacturer of vandal and demolition guards for all types of construction vehicles.
Established over 20 years ago, the company manufactures its large range of vandal, rock and demolition guards from its purpose-built premises in Stafford and works closely with some of the industry’s leading machinery manufacturers.
Cabcare were introduced to MPA and the possibilities of the R&D Tax Relief Scheme having met at a CEA (Construction Equipment Association) event. During the review process conducted by MPA for composing the supporting claim documentation, it was established that a significant number of projects, undertaken by Cabcare, did in fact qualify for R&D tax relief and had typically involved both proof of concept prototyping trials and high-level design for manufacturing iterations.
Adrian Grew Technical Sales Director, Cabcare Products LtdWe were delighted to hear that the work we undertake here at Cabcare did indeed qualify for R&D tax relief and the fact we could look at projects going back two financial years.
Cabcare were approached by Caterpillar to design and manufacture a vandal guard protection system for its 320G, 19.8 tonne earth excavator. The aim of the project was to design a vandal guard system that could be fitted to the cab of the excavator, at a height of 3 metres, by the operator while stood on the ground. Caterpillar also stated that there could be no drilling of the cab to anchor the guard system in order to protect the structural integrity of the cab itself.
The project development of both the vandal guard itself and the rear vandal guard panel took a significant period of time to complete with design and functional testing a challenge throughout the process. One of HMRC’s key criteria of an R&D claim is that of technological uncertainty being encountered with questions such as, can the vandal guard system meet provided tolerances? Can the panel locking points avoid clashing with the vehicle cab structure? Can a suitable rear mounted bracket be developed?
To conclude, Cabcare developed a complete vandal guard system that could be mounted from the ground in line with the client’s specification, allowing for health and safety to be always maintained whilst also allowing the guard system to be fitted by a single operative.
Adrian Grew Technical Sales Director, Cabcare Products LtdTo be able to claim money back for our development work has been a great benefit to Cabcare and knowing we can continue to claim for this each year means we can look to invest in more R&D projects. We’re grateful to have met MPA and had the benefit of their technical team who understood our sector, our business and made the process easy for us.
Whether you are already claiming or new to claiming for R&D activity, MPA truly understand the R&D work that you are doing and can translate claimable activity into a benefit by maximising your entitlement. You may even be able to claim for the last two financial years projects, if you are eligible like Cabcare were.
If you would like further information and find out how you may be eligible for R&D tax relief, contact us on 01234 912000.
The leading provider of bespoke vandal and demolition guards for all types of construction machinery
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