THE words "innovation" and "Cumbria" may not automatically have gone together in the past – but things have changed and Furness firms are at the heart of it.

One of the key drivers behind this spirit of innovation and invention is the setting up of Innovus, an organisation dedicated to helping the county's businesses develop new technologies and bring them to market.

It is a collaboration between the National Nuclear Laboratory and the University of Manchester.

Since its formation in 2011, Innovus has assessed more than 300 inventions and invested more than £1.8m into innovative technology from SMEs around the county.

In addition, £1.37m has been raised from the private sector, creating 79 jobs with almost 400 more predicted to be in the pipeline.

One of the companies to receive Innovus funding is Cumbria Crystal at the The Lakes Glass Centre, Oubas Hill, Ulverston.

It is the last remaining manufacturer of crystal glassware in the UK and has had products featured in James Bond films and the BBC drama Poldark.

It might appear strange that a business steeped in craftsmanship should be at the cutting edge of innovation, but managing director Chris Blade explained that it was playing a big part in the company's future.

"We are trying to open up new revenue sources," he said.

"There is a lot of growth in what is known as the super premium market, bottles of gin, whisky or other drinks priced anything from £1,000 to £10,000 a bottle."

Often these drinks come in unimpressive bottles. Crystal would be far more impressive but bottling drinks in crystal has a drawback.

There are concerns that, over time, lead can migrate from glass into the contents.

Mr Blade said: "It takes a long time and it is in very small quantities."

The US state of California has taken this concern so seriously that health warnings have to be displayed on lead crystal products.

Mr Blade is unconvinced, pointing out that some wines contain more lead than would be found in any drink stored in a lead crystal product.

His firm though is responding to the concerns and has worked out that it it can put a layer of regular glass inside a crystal bottle, keeping the liquid and lead apart.

For this to work, both materials need to expand and contract at the same rates, which presents engineering challenges. Work is continuing.

Mr Blade said: "With Innovus's help we are building a small furnace where we can do repeat tests.

"The staff there have been fantastic, it is making a real difference to people in Cumbria."

Another local business to benefit from Innovus is Oblyt, a startup run by Stephen Spencer, of Haverthwaite.

Its product Schape is a concrete and steel building structural system to be made off-site. These can be pieced together to create the frames of a structure and then given an individual touch by tradesmen.

Mr Spencer hopes to build a prototype home in the near future and Schape is already attracting interest from the building trade.

Mr Spencer was keen to praise Innovus and thinks Cumbria is a good place for innovation.

"Just because we live in beautiful surroundings and have a more relaxed lifestyle than in urban conurbations doesn't mean our brains have stopped working," he said.

Adrian Davis-Johnston, who runs Innovus, said: "South Cumbria has a long history of innovation over the last 100 years – the shipyards in Barrow, Oxley in Ulverston (which has also received Innovus funding) and James Cropper in Kendal."

He added that this was something which brought a lot of benefits to the area.