Engineering, Design and Advanced Manufacturing
From our pioneering role in the birth of the railways, Darlington still leads the way in engineering, design and advanced manufacturing. With world class expertise in low emission engines, bridge building, offshore, subsea, and track products for the freight, industrial and light rail industry, Darlington businesses are at the forefront of innovation and a driving force in the UK’s engineering, design and advanced manufacturing sector.
With manufacturing accounting for a significant part of Darlington’s economic output, there are a large number of supply chain companies based in Darlington fuelled by the presence of a wide variety of global engineering, design and manufacturing companies such as Cleveland Bridge, Cummins Engines, Whessoe , DeepOcean and Amec Foster Wheeler to name but a very few.
And the attraction for engineering, design and advanced manufacturing businesses is very clear – a wide skills base, excellent transport infrastructure and an established existing cluster underpinned by a strong supply chain.
As the ideal location to re-shore manufacturing to Darlington offers a perfectly engineered solution for your business needs ……
View our brochure below to find out what Darlington can offer your business or print a copy here!
3,500
employed in the Engineering, Design and Advanced Manufacturing Sector in 2013
£305m
economic contribution by the sector in 2016
"The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) chose Darlington for the new National Biologics Manufacturing Centre based on accessibility in the form of excellent transport links, particularly the East Coast Mainline, close proximity to existing pharmaceutical companies and relevant universities in the North of England, in addition to growth opportunities within the Tees Valley Enterprise Zone".
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Biologics
Keeping Darlington firmly at the forefront of manufacturing is the new £38m National Biologics Manufacturing Centre which opens in 2015. Biologics, or Biopharmaceuticals, are medicines manufactured using biotechnology, the use of which is revolutionising the research and development of new medicines.
Set up to support the growth of the UK's biologics industry, with open access facilities for the development and commercialisation of biologic products and process technologies, the new centre is designed to handle mammalian, microbial and next generation biologic platforms. And with an extensive analytical suite and high throughput development capabilities the centre will help companies of all sizes to develop, demonstrate, prototype and scale-up innovations that could be beneficial to biologics manufacture and provision.
Subsea
With a global reach Darlington’s growing Subsea Sector is one of our emerging stars. Already home to a number of world leading businesses that are exporting their skills and technology across the globe the scale of opportunity for the subsea sector in Darlington is limitless and with our excellent road, rail, sea and air connections we put you closer to customers, suppliers and new opportunities.
C-State, the first subsea training centre with a £5 million remotely operated underwater vehicle capability. Through a unique collaboration between industry and education, C-STATE was created to address the growing skills gap in the subsea engineering and service sectors, and offers through its partners, an extensive range of subsea courses from apprenticeships to further and higher education, and industry focussed training. Based within Darlington College, trainees have unique direct, hands on access to a 200hp hydraulic ROV in a safe, controlled and cost effective environment; combined with classroom based training for all courses.
Knowledge, Expertise & Networks
South Durham University Technical College, due to open in 2016 - this £10m facility will specialise in advanced manufacturing and engineering and will make a significant contribution to the vibrancy of the engineering sector in the North East. Located just outside of Darlington in Newton Aycliffe, the South Durham UTC will provide high quality education with an emphasis on project-based learning using project challenges from partner companies and hands-on engineering experience. Lead partners Hitachi Rail Europe and Gestamp Tallent Limited will provide work experience placements, mentoring, equipment, interview experience and visits to industrial premises. A number of other partners will be involved, offering design and delivery of real world projects and placements, including Thorn Lighting, 3M and Shepherd.