Semiconductor manufacturer to create 125 new jobs with £68m factory in Durham

A high-tech manufacturer of flexible electrical circuits that are thinner than a human hair is launching a £68m ($90m) factory in County Durham.

PragmatIC Semiconductor – which already runs a production line at nearby NETPark – has secured £68m series C funding including £3.8m ($5m) from Swiss packaging company Amcor and will launch the North East manufacturing facility which is estimated to double its workforce, creating 125 highly skilled jobs by the end of this year.

Work is currently underway to build the factory and commission the FlexLogIC fabrication line which expected to ramp up production to billions of circuits by 2023.

The investment is PragmatIC’s largest to date and the new site – called PragmatIC Park – will provide space for at least four additional production lines to support continued growth in demand for its products.

The firm’s tiny circuits can be invisibly embedded in objects, meaning innovators can create novel solutions to everyday problems that conventional electronics cannot.

For example, the products can be embedded into packaging to store and relay information to devices such as smartphones, opening up a range of uses from manufacturing to supply chain management and even consumer engagement.

PragmatIC said the Durham facility will become “the nucleus of a worldwide network” for major international customers and that it intends to draw suppliers to the site.

News source: BusinessLive