Advanced composites manufacturer Pentaxia (Derby / UK; www.pentaxia.com) is on track to undergo a rapid expansion, adding 20 jobs and moving to 6,500 m² of new manufacturing and office space in late 2017, as part of a GBP 1m (EUR 1.1m) investment programme.

Managing director Stephen Ollier said the business had seen a rapid increase in demand for lightweight, high-performance components from its blue-chip customers in the aerospace, motorsport and luxury automotive markets.

“We’ve built a strong management team who are keen to expand in order to meet growing demand from our customers. We’ve had an offer accepted on a new site on the north side of Derby city centre, quite close to our current facility, which will treble our current production space."

The site covers 2.4 hectares, which the company says gives it room to further expand in the future, possibly doubling the space. It will also allow the concentration of all operations under one roof to "significantly" improve productivity.

Pentaxia is currently recruiting for several roles, with more recruitment planned for 2018. Preparations for the move have already begun, and the firm has invested in two new Italmatic (Carraia / Italy; www.italmatic.eu) autoclaves, a new clean room and a fitting complex for the site. Current plans also include new machine tools and additional paint facilities.