ONE of the biggest support packages to be awarded by Scottish Enterprise – almost £15 million – has gone to a Glasgow -based satellite company to help create hundreds of jobs in Scotland ’s space sector.
Spire Global builds, tests and operates nano-satellites tracking aviation, maritime and weather patterns and the £14.7m investment is aimed at helping create more than 260 jobs.
The funding will enable it to move into new 40,000sq ft premises at Glasgow’s Skypark and increase its local workforce from 60 to 320 over the next five years.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the funding on a visit to Spire Global.
She said: “Our space sector is already punching above its weight, with almost one fifth of all UK jobs in this industry based north of the border and Scotland producing more small satellites than any other country in Europe.
“This £14.7m investment will help Spire Global develop its infrastructure and technologies, which in turn will create dozens of high-tech and highly skilled jobs and training opportunities in Scotland’s space sector. Only five years ago I announced Spire Global was creating 50 jobs by opening its office in Scotland – to see the rapid expansion of this innovative company shows the strength of our workforce and pool of talent coming from our world class universities.
“Spire Global’s expansion sends a strong message that even in these uncertain times, Scotland remains open for business and has the potential to be Europe’s leading space nation.”
Peter Platzer, the company’s CEO, said: “We want to work with the industry to build the world’s most effective weather forecast and to be a valuable contributing member of the Global Weather Enterprise.
“We will continue to scale the company and grow our workforce in Glasgow, along with our global product offering, to help countries across all industries, as well as governments tackle ever more frequent and extreme weather events in this era of climate change.
“Glasgow has been a fantastic location for us, with exceptional talent and people with a phenomenal ‘can-do’ attitude and true grit. We are excited to substantially expand our presence here and look forward to the continuation of strong partnerships within Scotland, the UK Space Agency, and the wider UK space ecosystems.”
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