Eatron Technologies, an intelligent-software developer and supplier based at the University of Warwick Science Park’s (USWP) Warwick Innovation Centre, has more than quadrupled its workforce in the last eight months — from six before Christmas 2020 to 25 now — thanks to a huge increase in demand from automotive companies around the world.
The company has also moved to a larger office to meet demand — and it is hoping to expand even further over the next year.
Eatron was able to expand its business after securing contracts worth £5 million to supply software — such as systems for battery management and active suspension — to major car manufacturers in China and other Asian countries.
Umut Genc, the company’s managing director, said: “While demand for electrification was there before Covid-19 as governments set electrification targets, the onset of the pandemic accelerated it hugely.
“Far more car manufacturers are pushing ahead with electric and autonomous vehicle technology, and they need reliable automotive grade software to be able to operate the advanced systems within their vehicles. This meant we suddenly had the opportunity to sign large contacts both here and in Asia, but it also meant we had to grow our team quickly with talented software engineers.
“Being based at the Science Park was perfect for us to do this. UWSP’s connections and graduate programmes meant we were able to access more junior talent to fill positions at Eatron quickly.
“Moreover, Warwickshire as a whole, along with Oxfordshire to the south, is full of automotive expertise, which meant we were able to find more senior software engineers to join us as well.”
He added: “We were also able to work directly with firms like IDIADA, Horiba MIRA and Millbrook Proving Ground, which are relatively close by, to test our software when we needed to. We believe demand will keep increasing, so we may be looking to expand even further in the future if our predictions are correct.”
Eatron Technologies, which also has an R&D centre in Istanbul, was founded as a start up in June 2018 and quickly established a foothold in the automotive software market before basing itself at UWSP.