06/09/2018

World-leading materials technology company Lucideon is gearing up for growth with a significant investment in staff, systems, facilities and ventures into new markets.

The company, which has its headquarters in Stoke-on-Trent, has already taken on 20 new recruits this year, including managerial roles in technology & strategy, technical/commercial consultancy and product management – as well as a chief financial officer who joins the business in Autumn.

Group IT systems are being bolstered by a £250,000 investment package and a further 16,000 square feet of laboratory space introduced at the company’s New York State facility.

Lucideon will also continue to export its UK-based expertise in advanced ceramics and materials to reinforce its strong position in Europe, with new offices opened in Zurich and Linz in Austria to tap into sectors including healthcare and aerospace.

Tony Kinsella, Lucideon’s chief executive, said: “We’ve invested significantly across the business to deliver the growth we have already secured, and to prepare the way to the next stage of expansion.

“It’s a busy time and the more we grow, the more we can help our customers to do the same.”

Lucideon originated from the Stoke-on-Trent’s British Ceramics Research Association, established in 1948, the heartland of the ceramics industry.

It now employs more than 240 staff around the world – with the vast majority based in Stoke-on-Trent, providing highly skilled opportunities in an area looking to utilise its historic links to the Potteries industry to tap into new and emerging technologies in the advanced ceramics arena.

In March, Lucideon announced its support for the National Advanced Sintering Centre (NASC) which would be located in Stoke-on-Trent’s proposed Ceramic Park, to attract global partners providing national and international investment.

The centre would be joined by the Applied Materials Research, Innovation and Commercialisation Company (AMRICC), to fast track advanced materials and materials processes into commercial products.

Mr Kinsella added: “Our history means that over the decades we’ve delivered innovation after innovation, along the way learning, experiencing and nurturing new scientific and engineering developments.

“While Stoke-on-Trent is still rightly renowned for its industrial heritage and expertise, we want to drive change so that the city is also recognised as a global centre for advanced ceramics, working with other manufacturers in the region and academia to forge a dynamic business cluster, which forms a strong sectoral element of the Midlands Engine.

“Expansion here in the UK and overseas is key to that.”

Lucideon’s global presence also includes offices and laboratories based in North and South Carolina, New York and in the Far East.

The company is also currently planning to open sales offices in China, Japan and Korea.