Automotive tech firm bags £50m growth and jobs expansion

Cramlington-based automotive clean-tech firm, AVID Technology has increased its headcount after a series of major contract wins and securing over £50m in new business.

The vehicle electrification manufacturer has increased its workforce to 64 by taking on a further 10 members of staff since January.

The new appointments span all departments with a particular focus on project management, engineering, production, testing, software and electric motor design.

AVID Technology specialises in the design, validation and manufacture of high-integrity electronics, ancillary components and electric motors for vehicle electrification and hybridisation.

Ryan Maughan, AVID’s managing director, said: “Since the start of the year, we’ve experienced a significant increase in new business both in the passenger and commercial vehicle industries internationally and the robotics and aerospace sectors.

“During the past few years, our staff numbers have grown at a steady rate year-on-year, from an average of 14 in 2014 to 64 this month.

“We expect this number to increase significantly throughout the rest of 2018. This is an exciting time to join the team, as a young company we are focused on growth and breaking new ground.”

The company’s project pipeline has more than doubled in 12 months with annualised sales now in excess of £240m.

The company is also seeking to fill a number of graduate roles set to start in the summer and predicts it will need to bring in more staff later this year to facilitate growing demand for its technology in the robotics and aerospace industries.

AVID has been advocating vehicle electrification to improve air quality and reduce climate change for 12 years.

Its reputation as one of the most advanced and skilled businesses in the electric vehicle sector led to the company being selected to work on a £20m government-funded clean-tech environmental project in 2017.

In February this year, the company was named a potential tech ‘Unicorn’ by international investment group GP Bullhound. By being included in the list, GP Bullhound says AVID has the potential to follow the likes of Uber, AirBnB and Spotify to massive growth, which could one day be valued at over $1bn.

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