A global materials development and testing company has taken on a new factory as part of a collaborative effort to put the Midlands on the map as a world leader in advanced ceramics.
Lucideon is one of a number of businesses which makes up the Midlands Industrial Ceramics Group (MICG) – which includes big-name firms such as Rolls-Royce and JCB along with the universities of Birmingham, Loughborough and Leicester.
In July, the group secured £18.7 million funding through the 海角视频 Research and Innovation's Strength in Places Fund (SIPF) – with £14 million of that going to Lucideon.
Now the Stoke-on-Trent company has used some of the cash to invest in an additional facility which will help it to play a key part in creating a "world-leading" industrial research and development programme over the next four years.
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The 92,000 sq ft facility on Stone Business Park – which formerly belonged to Renishaw – is expected to be up and running by the end of November.
Lucideon chief executive Tony Kinsella said: "It was great news to win the bid for funding, but unfortunately we just haven't got enough space in Penkhull to start the SIPF project.
"We have now rented a facility in Stone which used to belong to Renishaw. The reason we wanted it is because it's research labs and already set up for research – and sadly that's in short supply in Stoke-on-Trent."
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While the facility will be occupied by Lucideon, it will be open to businesses from the wider industry to pilot, trial and launch new processes.
It is also expected to lead to the creation of 250 new jobs at Lucideon by 2025.
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Tony added: "One of the goals is to create spin out businesses and a magnet for global manufactures to both expand and invest here in North Staffordshire.
"The plan is to create over 4,200 high paid jobs, right here in North Staffordshire, along with all the supply chain and hospitality business this will draw in."
One of the aims of the MICG is to improve manufacturing processes in the sector – to make them more energy-efficient, faster and cheaper. It also wants to develop an 'advanced ceramics campus' in Stoke-on-Trent.
Tony said: "This has been almost five years in the making and up until now this has been a dream, a vision, but securing the funding has made it a reality, so I'm very excited about getting the new space.
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"The overall goal is to get back to Stoke-on-Trent and have a 'ceramic campus' – that's what everyone has always dreamed of.
"Our favoured location for this is in Chatterley West and that plan is inching forward. We are already talking to various councils and developers."
Tony added: "A world class centre of excellence in ceramics will put North Staffordshire back on the global map."