Make Your Mark Awards joy for firm that ’ s reaching for the sky
Aycliffe Business Make Your Mark Awards
ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING AWARD
Sponsored by GEM Partnership
FINALISTS
Chris Boughen of category sponsor GEM Partnership presented the Engineering and Manufacturing award to CEO Jim Maycock and apprentice Alex Fitt .
Make Your Mark Awards joy for firm that ’ s reaching for the sky
The sky ’ s definitely NOT the limit for an Aycliffe firm that specialises in wireless and satellite communications .
Viper RF “ started with a laptop ” and , in 15 years , including seven at Newton Aycliffe , has progressed to become a globally recognised monolithic microwave integrated circuit ( MMIC ) supplier .
And according to CEO Jim Maycock , there ’ s even more to come from a firm that won the Engineering and Manufacturing prize at the Make Your Mark Awards .
“ We ’ ve been delivering some really good , high-tech stuff , for 15 years now ,” said Jim .
“ We started with just a laptop and built up . Now we have 17 people in the UK at Newton Aycliffe , a company in France and reps all over the world .
“ Our ambition when we started was to develop something that was a stand-alone entity – more than just myself and my business partner – and that ’ s what we ’ ve achieved .
“ Now it ’ s about continued growth and we ’ ve got loads of opportunity . We work in semi-conductor design , high-frequency stuff , wireless communications , satellite communications – we ’ ve had parts on 700 satellites .
“ There ’ s loads of satellites going into space and we ’ re a leader in what we do , so there ’ s a lot of growth potential in us . The sky ’ s not the limit !”
Viper RF took the Engineering and Manufacturing prize ahead of fellow finalists Durham Precision Engineering and TBOX TECH in a category sponsored by Gem Partnership .
DURHAM PRECISION ENGINEERING
Originally set up in 1984 , Durham Precision Engineering started as a small machining company providing subcontract machining to numerous clients on Aycliffe Business Park . Over the years , it has established a strong reputation , growing year on year .
Since coming into new ownership following a retirement sales in 2009 , the business has seen constant investment and growth .
DPE now serves prestige clients , not only in UK and Europe , but also the Americas and Middle East , including big brand names such as 3M , Typhoo , Tetley , GSK , CAT and many more .
TBOX TECH Established by Jon Elwell in 2013 , TBOX TECH revolutionises inventory management with innovative point-ofuse systems .
Jon ’ s journey began in 1999 as an engineer for Cromwell Supply Systems , where he tackled inventory challenges . Noticing common issues across sectors , he conceived a comprehensive solution . By 2009 , ProVyda , an advanced vending solution , emerged from Jon ’ s vision and collaboration with developers and partners .
TBOX was founded 11 years ago , consolidating years of expertise into tailored tech solutions such as ProPod , ProVyda , Tagging Technology and Smart RFID .
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