Engineering firm gears up for expansion with Washington Business Centre move

(from left) Dr Mike Fish, Dontyne Gears. Coun Graeme Miller, Jonathan Brothwood, Dontyne Gears

Dontyne Gears has made the move south from Prudhoe and has invested £100,000 in machine tools as it looks to increase its workforce.

Managing Director Mike Fish said: “We’re very excited about the move which has given us a chance to expand and be part of what is going to be an internationally significant manufacturing destination.

“With Nissan, Caterpillar, Cummins, ZF and others on our doorstep and of course the International Advanced Manufacturing Park next to it, the area is set to become a Silicon Valley of the automotive industry.

“Sunderland City Council has been great with us in terms of advising us and supporting us throughout the move, but the bottom line is that we are moving to exactly where we want to be because it’s a place with a really exciting future and so much potential.”

Dontyne Systems was launched in 2006 by Mike and partner Dr David Palmer as a software solutions business for manufacturers, combining David’s engineering skills with Mike’s computer programming and mathematics expertise.

Their reputation for developing software, primarily for the automotive industry is now well-established and has an international reputation.

But there was also a growing recognition by Dontyne that gears - a field which many regarded as in decline - could also benefit from their input.

In 2013 Dontyne Gears, which focuses on the research, design and testing of gear systems, was launched and has helped the company go from strength to strength.

It now has more than 180 customers in 15 countries across the globe from America to Japan.

“Japan is our biggest market,” said Mike, who has recently returned from exhibiting machine tools there. “Almost all of the major automotive companies in Japan are using our software in some capacity.

“As well as the automotive sector though, our products can be used in the marine and aerospace industry and we have customers across the world in those fields.

“This move has come at the right time for us because the location in Washington puts us at the centre of other businesses in our sectors.”