Tech manufacturer Filtronic has boosted its multimillion-dollar work with US rocket company SpaceX amid what it says is an exciting time for the business.
The County Durham based maker of radio frequency communications equipment, which also has operations in Leeds and Cambridge, says its partnership with Elon Musk's high profile business has been expanded to allow for more orders and deeper collaboration between the two companies.
Under the new agreement, Filtronic will increase its supply of advanced E-band SSPA modules used in the deployment of SpaceX's Starlink constellation, which provides high-speed, low-latency internet to users across the world, often in hard to reach places.
It follows an initial £48m ($60m) agreement between the two companies signed almost a year ago, which gave SpaceX the option to subscribe to 10% of Filtronic's shares. As part of the new deal, a further 5% of Filtronic share capital is available to Mr Musk's business - made possible by the issuing of 10,949,079 warrants to SpaceX at an exercise price of 92.8p.
The original deal has proven to be transformational for Filtronic, which has gone from a £16m turnover company to to one that it is expected to reach £48m this year. Bosses say the new agreement has given them confidence the business - whose share price was climbing on the announcement - is trading slightly ahead of market expectations.
SpaceX's series of multimillion-dollar orders has also been a driver of Filtronic's expansion in the North East - with its factory capacity set to double as it moves into new buildings at its NETPark home.
Nat Edington, chief executive officer, of Filtronic said: "We are delighted to enter this important new phase of our strategic partnership with SpaceX. The new agreement demonstrates the value of our technology to one of the world's most innovative technology companies and secures further significant supply of E-band SSPAs into the Starlink constellation.
"This gives us greater visibility and confidence that we are trading marginally ahead of market expectations for our financial year ending May 31, 2026. This continues to be an exciting time for the business, and we look forward to continuing our relationship with SpaceX."
The new deal comes as SpaceX is in the news for its part in bringing astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back to Earth after they were stranded on the International Space Station nine months ago. Their SpaceX capsule parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico just hours after leaving the space station.
