Last word: Nat Edington

www.filtronic.com

LinkedIn: Filtronic

The business has enjoyed a bumper period of success, with headline multi-million-pound supply deals to support the Elon Musk-backed SpaceX interstellar venture complemented by partnerships with Leonardo and Airbus Defence and Space.

What do those agreements say about Filtronic’s market prowess, and how will they accelerate the firm’s growth ambitions?

It’s been an incredible period for us, and those agreements really show the strength of Filtronic’s reputation on the global stage.

Winning design and supply deals with organisations like SpaceX, Leonardo and Airbus Defence and Space is testament to the trust they place in our people, technology and ability to deliver at scale.

These aren’t short-term projects either, they’re partnerships that give us a platform to grow further and invest in innovation, which critical markets like space and defence demand.

It’s also great to see a company headquartered in the North East showing it can tackle some of the most exciting and complex engineering challenges in the world.

We hope it inspires the next generation of engineers.

Filtronic has operated from NETPark, in Sedgefield, County Durham, for a number of years, and is now primed to expand into a larger hub on the science and technology estate.

How important has NETPark been to the company’s recent achievements, and what impact will the new site have on operations in the years ahead?

NETPark has been a huge part of our story.

Being surrounded by other innovative businesses and in proximity to universities like Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria and Teesside has given us access to great talent, strong research links and the kind of facilities we’ve needed.

Our new, custom-built headquarters base at NETPark is the next step.

It will more than double our footprint and give us room to scale, while staying rooted in the North East.

With the planned £100 million investment to expand the NETPark estate and create thousands of jobs, it’s an exciting time to be part of this community.

For Filtronic, it means more space and more collaboration for the next phase of growth.

In a world where geopolitical uncertainty continues to be matched by soaring technological demand, how is Filtronic positioning itself to stay ahead and lead this rapidly evolving landscape?

The pace of change is relentless, whether it’s the demand for secure communications, the growth of low Earth orbit satellites or the need for resilient defence systems.

Our job is to anticipate those shifts and ensure we’re ready with solutions that make a real difference.

That means doubling down on research and investment, investing in skills and building the capability to deliver complex technologies, such as solutions based on gallium nitride, a semiconductor that is driving a paradigm shift in high-frequency power.

However, it’s not just about the technology.

It’s what it enables too.

For instance, we’ve recently developed new solutions for Q/V-band satellite communications, enabling faster, more efficient and more secure networks for space and defence.

This could be a game-changer for multi-orbit connectivity.

Here, flexibility and scalability are key.

We’re small enough to stay agile but experienced enough to take on major programmes, and by keeping production in the UK, we are helping safeguard supply chains and supporting domestic sovereignty.

That combination is what sets Filtronic apart and allows us to lead in today’s landscape.

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