31 August 2010
High-Tech US Company to Make Daresbury Campus its UK Base
The US-based advanced computing applications and software company Tech-X Corporation is to co-locate at the Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus (Daresbury SIC) to set up its UK operations, in collaboration with The Cockcroft Institute (the National Centre for Accelerator Science and Technology).
Tech-X is a Colorado-based company employing over 50 people and is known worldwide for its development of high-performance computing products and solutions into the likes of the aerospace and semiconductor industries, as well as universities and research institutes. Their products include the VORPAL computational framework, GPUlib, and products for remote and distributed computing and for systems integration. The VORPAL computational framework has a wide range of uses, including the modelling of electromagnetic structures, plasma and photonics devices, and it can take advantage of the tens of thousands of CPUs found in current supercomputers.
The establishment of the base at Daresbury SIC followed two years of work with Tech-X including hosting several visits to the North West region. The move was significantly supported by The Mersey Partnership (TMP) and the overseas team of the Northwest Regional Development Agency, North of England Inward Investment Agency, who worked closely with the company ensuring they had the correct information and access to local companies to set up their UK operation.
Dr. John Cary, CEO of Tech-X, said: “Having the Campus as our base in
the UK makes perfect sense as it will allow ease of co-operation with our collaborators
at Daresbury SIC and the Cockcroft Institute, and it also places us close to
the Hartree Centre for Computational Science. As well as enabling ‘discovery-class’ science,
we’re really looking forward to working with UK universities, labs, and
industry by providing computational solutions for improved product development.”
John
Leake, general manager of Daresbury SIC, said: “It’s fantastic
for the Campus to have Tech-X based here. Daresbury SIC is second to none in
terms of business environments that are conducive to innovation, and to be
able to welcome a leading player in high performance computing such as Tech-X
is further validation for us at a time when computational science is very firmly
a growth area for the Campus.”
Professor Swapan Chattopadhyay, Director of the Cockcroft Institute and Sir John Cockcroft Professor of Physics at the Universities of Liverpool, Manchester and Lancaster, said: “I’m delighted that the international community of accelerator scientists and technologists working here at the Cockcroft Institute have been able to attract Tech-X USA, who are a singularly reputable name in advanced computing, to co-locate here during its start-up phase in the UK. Tech-X will boost the Institute’s mission of conceiving scientific tools for discovery through very advanced computer simulation, modelling and visualisation tools for science. The collaboration will also enhance the local economy through generating and employing the vital computational skills base in industry.”
Lorraine Rogers, Chief Executive of The Mersey Partnership said: “Tech-X is a leader in computational science operating in a global market. We are delighted to assist them in setting up their UK operations at Daresbury SIC. Their decision to locate here underlines the strength of the Liverpool City Region offer of a highly skilled workforce, great connectivity and world class facilities.
“Ongoing US investment to the region is a key target for TMP. It reflects our ambition of having a balanced economy with a complementary mix of foreign and domestic investment.
“TMP, along with partners, will continue to work closely with Tech-X to support their future plans.”
