Software firms set for further expansion thanks to Sunderland Software Centre backing

A Sunderland-based business incubator is celebrating after two of its tenants announced plans to relocate to new, larger premises in the city.

Sunderland Software Centre opened in 2013 and is the city’s flagship venue for tech and creative businesses, with a purpose to enable businesses to develop and grow.

Two of the latest companies to have benefited from the software hub are AM3D, which specialises in 3D printing, and Frontier Technical, which has created technology that has the potential to ‘transform’ the offshore sector.

Frontier Technical, which was founded by experienced engineer, Trevor Hardcastle, chose to set up at Sunderland Software Centre after being offered extensive advice and guidance from the city’s council’s business investment team and colleagues close by at Port of Sunderland.

Trevor said: “We can’t thank the staff at the Software Centre and Sunderland City Council enough for all of their help and advice over the last few years.

“Being able to collaborate with like-minded businesses and being just minutes from the Port of Sunderland has really helped us ramp up the speed of our research and development.

“We’re now ready for the next chapter of our business journey and are excited to see what the future brings.

“Our new Hybrid office at Washington Business Centre will provide us with the space required to start building our first prototype and hopefully move us one step closer to having a market-ready product.”

Brothers, Louis and Liam Monte, founded AM3D after spotting a gap in the market and tailored their business model to capitalise on the growing market for ‘additive manufacturing’, using printers to create layered 3D objects.

Liam and Louis, who studied in the region at Northumbria University and the University of Sunderland, were keen to establish the business in Sunderland, with its growing reputation for nurturing successful tech startups.

Over the last 12 months the company has invested in new state-of-the-art printers and securing contracts with firms from a range of sectors. Now, as a result of this growth, the pair are joining Frontier at Washington Business Centre as they relocate to larger premises.

Liam added: “When we launched the business, we researched the industry, looked into the cost and drew up a business plan, but even we couldn’t predict just how quickly it would grow, particularly due to our work with the dental industry.

“Within just 12 months, our order book has grown exponentially and we’ve had to invest in new machinery in order to keep the orders rolling in.

“We’ve now reached capacity at our current space here at Sunderland Software Centre and have had to relocate to new, purpose built Hybrid offices at Washington Business Centre.

“The team at Sunderland City Council and the Software Centre have been fantastic since day one and their support is testament to the growth of this company, we couldn’t have done it without them.”

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