Defence tech company OpenWorks expands into US with plans for Michigan factory

The Northumberland firm’s team has recently been training FBI officers to use its drone capturing kit

Counter-drone tech maker OpenWorks has announced its expansion into the US with plans to set up a factory there.

The Prudhoe-based maker of optical sensors and drone capture equipment has opened a new regional American headquarters in Ashburn, Virginia, and has talked of a future factory in Detroit, Michigan. The decade-old firm – which was recognised with a King’s Awards for Enterprise for its exporting activity – says the move is part of its ongoing mission to protect the airspace and territories of NATO and allied countries.

Chris Bigwood has been appointed as the company’s new executive vice president, responsible for business development and corporate strategy in North America. He comes with more than 30 years’ experience in the defence industry and will spearhead the launch of the Detroit factory which is expected to open later this year.

OpenWorks’ products are already widely used in the US with its team having recently training FBI ‘elite operators’.

News of the stateside expansion follows growth of OpenWorks’ home base last year, when it outline plans to create 20 jobs amid a ramping up of production. The firm has also invested more than £2m in research and development over the past year alone, including work with the North East Space Communications Accelerator (NESCA) at Northumbria University, funding two PhD programs in autonomous vision systems development and providing support to post-doctoral research, and supporting university final year projects.

Significant investment has also gone into leading-edge artificial intelligence to boost its precision detection, tracking, identification and targeting capability against threats.

OpenWorks was launched by friends in the back room of a rented office in Northumberland more than 10 years ago. Soon after it launched SkyWall Patrol – a handheld drone net capture system which is said to have protected numerous EU heads of state as well as US presidents Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Barack Obama.

Its system has been used all over the world, by governments, militaries and private security organisations to protect the likes of airports, major infrastructure and the Pentagon. The company has grown its workforce four fold since 2024 and now employs 125 people.

Chris Down, CEO, said: “We pride ourselves on never forgetting how we started in North East England. The five original founders were friends who came up in the region’s rich engineering and manufacturing sector together and are proud of our heritage and what we’ve learned, and continue to learn, on our home soil.

“Our shared passion for engineering excellence is what took us from that small office in Northumberland, all the way to this expansion into the United States. This milestone is not only a point of pride for our company’s growth, but a great show of what the North East’s talent has to offer on the global stage.”