\n Aiming higher than ever<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n \n As chief executive of a company that\u2019s flourished at NETPark since 2009, Steve Clements has seen the site not only become established as the region\u2019s premier science park, but gain national credibility.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cNETPark has clearly moved from being regionally important to a nationally important centre,\u201d declares the CEO of aXenic.\n<\/p>\n \n aXenic is a leader in the design, development and production of ultra-high speed optical modulators, communications and sensing, particularly in the field of satellite communications. And Steve has no doubt that NETPark has played a critical part in the growth of the company as it prepares for an exciting future in the space sector.\n<\/p>\n \n Originally from Yorkshire, Steve has been immersed in the world of fibre optics since the 1980s when he helped enable the first fibre optic telecommunications links beneath the Pacific and Atlantic.\n<\/p>\n \n He came to the North-East in 2001 to work on the development of an optical business at Filtronic, then based at Newton Aycliffe. When the Filtronic plant was acquired by American company, RFMD, in 2009, the optics side of the business was sold on to German company u\u00b2t Photonics, based at NETPark.\n<\/p>\n \n By 2013, instead of expanding fibre optics on the ground, Steve could see an opportunity to approach customers who were active in satellite communications.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cWe could see that the technology we were making was totally applicable for the internet and telecommunications from space, so it was a pivotal time,\u201d recalls Steve.\n<\/p>\n \n When u\u00b2t was bought out by American company, Finisar, in 2014, it became clear that the new owners weren\u2019t interested in the work Steve\u2019s team were doing with fibre optics, so he cut a deal to form aXenic a year later.The initial business plan was to focus on Europe, working with leading satellite manufacturers, Airbus and Thales Alenia Space, but Covid came along just as aXenic was on the point of winning major contracts.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cDemand for what we were developing slowed down and we had to retrench,\u201d says Steve.\n<\/p>\n \n But, instead of sitting on their hands, the aXenic team put the downtime of the pandemic to good use, bringing forward plans to expand worldwide. Agents were appointed around the world, the business began trading globally, and by the end of 2020, it was back in growth.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cFrom going through a sticky patch during Covid, things have really moved forward over the past two years,\u201d says Steve.\n<\/p>\n \n From a start-up team of six when aXenic was founded, that\u2019s doubled to 12 employees, and turnover has grown by more than 50 per cent in each of the last two years. In addition to the core team, the business uses the same number of sub-contractors, all based in the UK, and many of them in the North East.\n<\/p>\n \n aXenic was recently awarded a contract to supply its leading IQ modulator product for a large satellite-based communication application, which will deliver more than 200 parts through 2023, and Steve describes it as a \u201cmilestone moment\u201d for the business.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cWe are leading the world in what we do and, hopefully, this is the first of many contracts with that customer and other customers,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s what we\u2019ve been anticipating for a long time, before Covid got in the way, and we are on the cusp of very significant growth.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n And NETPark will continue to be at the heart of that growth, with the company planning to be part of Phase 3, so it can expand its team, facilities and equipment.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cIt\u2019s an excellent place to do business and we want to be part of the expansion,\u201d he adds.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cWhen you\u2019re a small company, trying to attract the brightest and best talent, it\u2019s a stronger sell when you\u2019re part of a dynamic cluster of like-minded businesses.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cDurham County Council and Business Durham have been incredibly proactive in supporting the cluster and, when times are hard they can direct companies to sources of grants and income that make all the difference.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cThere are other science parks around the country, but the level of support on NETPark is second to none, and I have no doubt that we will be enriched by a growing collection of world-class companies on the site.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n \n A gem of a business<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n \n As a County Durham lad from a long line of miners, Gary Gibson has become a sparkling example of County Durham nurturing its own talent and looking to the future.\n<\/p>\n \n Gary grew up in Peterlee during the miners\u2019 strike of the 1980s. His father, Ron, was a pitman at nearby Horden Colliery, as was his grandfather and great-grandfather.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cMy dad could see there was no future in the pits, so he always stressed, again and again, that I should get an education that would give me a career that was anything but mining,\u201d he recalls.\n<\/p>\n \n Gary followed his father\u2019s sound advice but there was an irony in the educational route he chose because, when he went to Imperial College London to study for a degree and PhD in Material Science and Engineering, he was based at the Royal School of Mines.\n<\/p>\n \n After he graduated, he became a researcher at Cambridge University before moving into industry, working as a process engineer in semiconductor plants in this country and the US.\n<\/p>\n \n When he returned to the UK, he spent the next ten years as a technologist in various start-ups, including Durham companies, Kromek, a leading developer of radiation detection solutions, and X-ray specialist, Bede.\n<\/p>\n \n By 2012, Gary had gained enough experience to become founder of IBEX Innovations \u2013 a business making X-ray equipment for the early diagnoses of osteoporosis and other bone conditions \u2013 with NETPark as the chosen location.\n<\/p>\n \n As the business grew, a chief executive was brought in, and Gary got back to what he loves most \u2013 exploring the science.\n<\/p>\n \n His next venture, in 2018, was the launch of Dyman Advanced Materials, an exciting business developing a new and patented process for the production of high-quality synthetic diamonds for the industrial and jewellery sectors.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cIt\u2019s very difficult to tell the difference from real diamonds but they retail at 30-40 per cent less,\u201d explains Gary. \u201cThere\u2019s a very strong movement towards them, especially among young people in the US and Asia, because their production is not only cheaper but more environmentally friendly and ethical.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n When the business first started, it was just Gary and one other part-time employee, but that has now grown to ten members of staff, with seven full-time equivalents. For the past five years, the focus has been on research and development, but the business is now ready to start selling commercially.\n<\/p>\n \n The first samples will be ready for shipment in the next couple of months, with the initial focus on the industrial market.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cOur USP is that we\u2019ve come up with a way of producing the lab-made diamonds that uses less power, making the process much more economical and environmentally friendly,\u201d says Gary. \u201cNETPark has been great during that R&D phase because you\u2019re surrounded by like-minded companies, the facilities are amazing, and there\u2019s a great support team on-site. They\u2019ve been so helpful in opening up their contacts and giving advice.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n During development, Gary\u2019s team needed access to sophisticated pieces of equipment and, by being part of a science business cluster, they were able to gain short-term access to equipment owned by other NETPark companies, either on a rental or goodwill basis.\n<\/p>\n \n He\u2019s also grateful for the \u201cvery practical and sound business advice and support\u201d the company has had from Business Durham. \u201cIt\u2019s an organisation that wants to find solutions, and that\u2019s not what you always find in other parts of the world,\u201d he says. \u201cThey hold regular networking clinics, and fundraising services that are the lifeblood of a young company. It led to grant funding and angel investment for us.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n Durham Universitysponsored a PhD student to work on research and development projects that proved to be useful to the company, while CPI also helped find solutions to development problems. It means that the priority for this year is to build up the manufacturing side of the business by taking advantage of the Phase 3 expansion of NETPark.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cIt is great that the council are committing to expand NETPark, and it was great that Business Durham reached out to companies on the park to ask what kind of facilities they would like to see in the expansion, so we\u2019ve had a voice in what happens in the future. That\u2019s the kind of inclusive place it is,\u201d says Gary.\n<\/p>\n \n And, with confidence that the business is ready for commercialisation, the target is for Dyman to hit \u00a320m in annual revenues over the next three years.\n<\/p>\n \n After five years spent patiently developing the production of synthetic diamonds in modern labs, that will be quite an achievement for the County Durham lad whose ancestors went underground to dig for coal.\n<\/p>\nGary Gibson, Founder and Chief Executive at Dyman Advanced Materials (Image: Business Durham)<\/i><\/span>\n<\/p>\n