A TECHNOLOGY firm is changing its name as part of a plan to go for growth outside the UK.

Barcode Solution Centre, of Darlington, has been renamed Agilite, reflecting the growth and change the business has gone through since it was set up in 1996. The name change becomes official from January 1.

The company, based at Lingfield House, Lingfield Point, is also looking to invest further in its high-tech infrastructure and working on strengthening the skill and experience profile of its management team over the coming months.

Agilite specialises in providing data capture solutions for Geac and JD Edwards' ERP systems, and is looking to expand this service to work with other providers such as SAP and Peoplesoft.

While its major clients are in the UK, it is looking to increase the amount of work it does for multi-national companies in Europe and the US.

Its current client list includes Gossard, B/E Aerospace, Motorola and Dewhirst.

Last year the group, which employs 22 staff, recorded turnover of £3m.

The company's long-term aim is to become recognised as a leading global designer and supplier of software solutions, along with appropriate hardware, to clients across the world who are looking to improve their data capture systems.

Kevin McDaid, managing director of Agilite, said: "We felt it was important to update our image as the old name rather pigeon-holed us and didn't reflect the breadth and extent of the work we now undertake on behalf of our cli-ents.

"We are branching out into new products and new geographical markets so it is important for us to make this change now."

General manager Terry Nall added: "The expansion and development we are enjoying in new markets has prompted us to increase our team of professionals here in Darlington to support these growing areas.

"These are very exciting times for our company and we believe that our new name will reflect this."