Castle Building Services has been appointed as principal contractor for the PragmatIC Park electronics facility in Durham, which is expected to create 500 jobs over the next five years.
PragmatIC Semiconductor, which manufactures flexible integrated circuits, is behind the new site which will be located on Meadowfield Industrial Estate in Durham.
The factory will transform the present brownfield industrial site into a semiconductor production facility, incorporating features that significantly improves sustainability compared to traditional manufacturing.
Castle Building Services will be working alongside In Architecture, Kinetic Engineers, Portland Consultancy, BlueKeep Building Control and Northern Engineering Services.
The Hebburn-headquartered contractor, which last year recorded a turnover of £30m, employs 134 people across its offices in Teesside, Leeds, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Andrew Dawson, managing director at Castle Building Services, said: “After a successful tender process, we have been appointed as principal contractor to deliver the facility at PragmatIC Park.
“Teamwork will play a big role in this project and we will work alongside a range of high-calibre, North East companies, to install all specialist infrastructure, including renovation works and enhancement to the building structure, to incorporate the clean room and associated laboratories and offices.”
He added: “PragmatIC Park is a huge coup for the region. As well as the investment in innovative technology and high-value manufacturing, it will bring hundreds of new jobs to the area, as the North East continues at the forefront of sustainable digital technology.”
Ken Williamson, chief operating officer at PragmatIC Semiconductor, added: “We are really excited about our new PragmatIC Park site in Durham, which is the ideal location for our second FlexLogIC fab – the first 300mm wafer fab in the UK. We look forward to ramping up production to meet the growing global demand for embedding electronics in everyday objects.”
