£1.5m investment delivers Silicon Valley deal for Tees Valley tech company

A Tees Valley company that builds cutting-edge prototypes for Formula 1 and the aviation and nuclear sectors has nabbed a deal with a firm based in Silicon Valley.

Paragon Rapid Technologies, headquartered in Darlington, has ploughed over £1.5m into its business in the last 18 months.

The investment led to Paragon securing a partnership with US-based Carbon, the 3D printing company pioneering a new technology called Digital Light Synthesis (DLS).

DLS creates engineering-grade materials to rival injection moulding and has already been adopted by a number of international businesses, including sportswear giant Adidas and automaker BMW.

Paragon has acquired three DLS machines and regularly builds prototypes for manufacturers such as Nissan, Jaguar Land Rover, JCB, Black & Decker, National Cash Registers and Tata.

The firm will next year look to relocate to a purpose-built facility, where it will increase capacity to physically manufacture finished products. The new site is currently under construction.

Phil Adamson, managing director of Paragon, said: “We’ve invested heavily in state-of-the-art equipment and the talent to match over the past two years, with a loyal and growing customer base.

“We know there’s no slowing down and that’s why we have major plans to expand our business, get bigger and better, and keep our area at the forefront of this technology.”

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, who visited Paragon recently, commented: “What another fantastic example of advanced and process technologies in the Tees Valley being market leaders, helping to put this region on the map.

“Paragon is a success story for all of the innovators, entrepreneurs and job creators of today.”

He added: “It was great to hear that the team’s hard work and expertise has paid off, with exciting plans for growth in our area. I look forward to hearing about their future achievements.”