AN innovative County Durham company which produces man-made diamonds is moving into the next phase of its growth after securing a five-figure grant.

Dyman Advanced Materials has been able to invest in state-of-the-art machinery including a laser cutter, a furnace and a polishing kit with the support of the County Durham Growth Fund.

The machinery enables NETPark-based Dyman, which was founded by Dr Gary Gibson in 2018, to create and then precisely slice the diamonds into various shapes and sizes.

The man-made diamonds, which are seen as a more ethical alternative to mined gemstones, are then supplied to clients in sectors including the automotive industry, oil and gas, healthcare, space and the jewellery market both in the UK and around the world.

Dr Gary Gibson said: “The machinery we’ve been able to purchase with the support of the County Durham Growth Fund is far more advanced than anything we were using previously and means we’re able to work in a far more exact and precise way, cutting the diamonds into shapes with micron accuracy (1/1000 of a millimetre).

“This increased capability means we’re able to target even more markets and has significantly increased our capacity to deliver either bespoke or bulk contracts for clients.

“We’re now looking ahead to an exciting year for the business which could also see us move to larger premises in Phase Three of NETPark.”

Dr Gibson founded Dyman Advanced Materials after first coming up with the idea when he was aged just 20 and at university.

After that, he worked for fellow NETPark-based innovator Kromek before founding Ibex Innovations.

He then managed to secure funding to launch Dyman and in the four and a half years since, has taken the business from a two-man outfit to one that employs 10 people.

Dr Gibson added: “Our diamonds are as good as the world’s leading producer of mined diamonds – you cannot tell the difference between them.

“The processes we use also mean that we can take a ‘junk’ diamond and by heating it up in our furnace to around 2000 degrees, you can turn it into a proper diamond.

“Although currently the diamonds we produce are for the industrial market, there could potentially be scope for us to look at the gemstone market, however, the timing would have to be right for us as a business as it would mean significant scale-up.

“For now though, our priority is to start and sell commercially and generate our own profits – up to now our growth has been supported by grants and investment.”

The County Durham Growth Fund is managed by Business Durham in partnership with UMi and is supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). All successful grant applications are appraised by UNW LLP, an independent firm of chartered accountants and business advisers.

Janet Todd NETPark Project Director at  Business Durham said: “Dyman Advanced Materials is a  real innovator within their field, a County Durham-founded company working on a global scale. The support they’ve had from the County Durham Growth Fund has been pivotal to their plans to continue to grow and I am delighted to be able to help them access the help they need to take their business to the next level.”

Simon Allen, investment centre director at UMI, added: “Dyman is the perfect example of a trail-blazing company that is actively growing and creating jobs with the help of the County Durham Growth Fund.”

Lara Marshall, corporate finance manager at UNW, said: “Dyman is  now ideally positioned to take their business to the next level and break into new markets after purchasing industry-leading machinery with a grant awarded to them by the County Durham Growth Fund.”