Future looks bright for Sunderland branch of engineering firm

Geoff Briggs of EDS (left) with Councillor Graeme Miller.

The high voltage engineering company, which recently opened a new office in Sunderland, has its eyes on further growth after bagging £1.15million in funding.

DS HV was launched in Lancashire in 1993 and offers a complete end-to-end turnkey engineering solution, working on renewable energy projects across the globe.

The renewable energy sector has witnessed unprecedented growth in recent years and EDS HV has opened offices in Aberdeen, County Down, Suffolk.

Recognising that the North East is becoming a strategic hub in the offshore sector, and in order to meet growing demand for its services, the company decided to open its Sunderland base in 2014.

Headed by technical manager Geoff Briggs, the Sunderland arm of the business grew rapidly and it was not long until the company needed to invest in new, larger premises to service its growing client base.

Working alongside Make it Sunderland, the business support and inward investment campaign supported by Sunderland City Council, the company relocated to a new city centre office at Sunderland Software Centre last year.

“We’ve grown rapidly since we opened our first office in the city four years ago, growing from a team of one to a team of 13,” said Geoff.

“Having looked at a number of developments across the city, we settled on Sunderland Software Centre as it perfectly suited our needs.

“We’re close to the port, the transport links are fantastic, we can utilise the board and meeting rooms and the facilities here are second to none.”

The company recently secured funding after being made aware of a new European funding programme by the North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC).

A total of 1,400 companies applied for funding via the EU Funded Horizon 2020 scheme, with 50 companies managing to secure support – only three of which were from the UK.

Sunderland City Council leader, Coun Graeme Miller, said: “EDS is a fantastic example of the kind of innovative businesses turning its attention to Sunderland.”