Sci-Tech Daresbury welcomes new international arrivals – Factorytalk and Tangent Works expand global operations with UK offices

Factorytalk is a software and services company based in Bangkok which specialises in Industry 4.0 solutions for pharmaceutical manufacturing, also known as Pharma 4.0. The company currently has 35 employees globally and its expansion is part of a strategic move to operate within the UK market and time zone, helping to create better support and communication with European and other international markets.

Factorytalk products include Batchline, a simple and effective cloud Electronic Batch Record application offering powerful process, quality, and management tools. Interest is also being generated by Tulip, a no-code IOT enabled platform developed at MIT and suitable for simple digital transformation of manufacturing operations by building code-free apps.

Tangent Works was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Gooik, Belgium. The Artificial Intelligence company supplies an innovative solution to automate the process of building machine learning models for forecasting and anomaly detection applications.

The Tangent Information Modeller algorithm, known as TIM, uses the mathematical concept of information geometry to build predictive models in seconds. This technology provides users with greater capabilities than previous AutoML tools to efficiently produce models through a single API, and has been a winner of various international competitions.

In April 2020 Tangent Works raised £1.8m through its latest round of funding from Force Over Mass, a London-based VC firm, which has helped support the company’s international expansion.

The two firms will join approximately 150 other research organisations and high-tech businesses at Sci-Tech Daresbury, and both companies will be able to take advantage of the many networking and collaborative business opportunities available on site.

Neil Wetherall, Managing Director at FactoryTalk UK Limited, said: “Our decision to open a base at the Sci-Tech Daresbury campus reflects the wealth of opportunities it provides for both academic and industrial partnerships. The campus is internationally-recognised for its broad talent pool and as a central hub for tech support programmes. It is a natural home for a software company like us looking to scale-up.

“Paired with a convenient location in the Liverpool City Region and strong transport links to the other key destinations, our new office will provide us with excellent and direct access to the UK market.”

Michael Thomas, UK Director of Tangent Works, said: “This move represents a logical step in our growth strategy. As a general-use technology provider, our customers range across a wide variety of industries and the diverse mix of companies at the Sci-Tech campus therefore represents a wealth of exciting opportunities for our business.

“We also recognise the importance of the North West’s academic offering in furthering its commercial potential, and look forward to working with some of the region’s world-leading universities.”

Sci-Tech Daresbury is a private-public joint-venture partnership between developer Langtree, the Science and Technology Facilities Council and Halton Borough Council.

John Downes, Group Chief Executive of Langtree and Chair of the Sci-Tech Daresbury joint venture company, said: “The campus’ status as a global leader in science and innovation continues to attract businesses from around the globe. We are thrilled by the arrival of FactoryTalk and Tangent Works – their presence on site is representative of our ambition to bring together enterprising young companies to enjoy support and collaboration opportunities on the campus and builds on the strong clusters we have at Sci-Tech Daresbury in data analytics, AI, and Industry 4.0 technologies.”