A FIRM making highly specialised components for fibre optic cables, is to be the latest tenant of a North- East science park.

u2t Photonics UK is moving from its site in Newton Aycliffe to take over laboratory, office and storage space in the NETPark Incubator, at Sedgefield, County Durham.

The incubator, a breeding ground for young technology companies located on the NETPark site, expanded its available floor space by 150 per cent in April.

David Weddle, NETPark Incubator manager, said: “u2t is exactly the kind of specialised advanced electronics business that NETPark was designed for.

“They will find themselves in the company of similar groundbreaking companies operating in an environment which is sympathetic to, and supportive of, the needs of science-based businesses.’’ Steve Clements managing director of u2t Photonics UK said: “We are delighted to be able to locate at NETPark because, as a small group focussed on delivering products on a tight schedule, we want to spend our time on the development, not on establishing and supporting our infrastructure.

“The offering from NETpark is dedicated to providing all the resources that we need with the flexibility and support which is so important at this stage in a company’s development.”

NETPark is one of the fastest - growing science parks in the UK and demand for space there has been so great that the original Incubator hit occupancy targets three years ahead of schedule, prompting its owners to build the sizeable extension.

The science park is owned by Durham County Council and managed by the County Durham Development Company.

Mr Weddle added: “Demand meant the original building was bursting at the seams and we had to convert a lot of general purpose rooms into offices or labs to accommodate people.”

It is understood that five additional companies are at an advanced stage of inquiries about moving to the Incubator.