As part of a dramatic expansion, technology-giant Dyson has announced plans to open a new 210-hectare campus in the UK as part of a £2.5bn investment that will support the development of new technologies and robotics.
As well as develop the new campus on the former Ministry of Defence airfield, Dyson also intends to increase British workforce by 7,000 over the next seven years.
The new facility which will be in Hullavington, Wiltshire will focus on batteries, robotics and artificial intelligence. The £2.5bn investment is expected to increase speculation that Dyson is developing a driverless electric car.
“This investment is a vote of confidence in our modern industrial strategy and our determination to cement the UK’s position as a world leader in high-tech engineering.” said Prime Minister Theresa May.
“Dyson’s exporting strength and commitment to creating jobs in Britain is a real success story that demonstrates the opportunity that our plan to create a truly global Britain can present.”
Sir James Dyson publicly supported Brexit before the referendum in June.
“We have got the opportunity to export globally – Europe is only 15% of global trade and declining. The world outside Europe is expanding faster than Europe, and that is the same for Dyson,” he said.
“Britain is a great place to do business” the business tycoon said, due to the low rate of corporation tax, the skills of engineers and scientists, and the decline in the value of the pound against the dollar and euro. “These are far more important elements than any WTO [World Trade Organisation] tariffs.”
Sales in Dyson, which produces bladeless fans, air purifiers, hand-dryers, hairdryers, have doubled in the past five years. In that same period, the company tripled its workforce.
The tech company reported revenues of £1.7bn in 2015, up 26 percent year on year, and had profits of £448m.