CDP to open new office on the US East Coast

Cambridge Design Partnership (CDP) is opening a new base on America’s East Coast, aimed at meeting the needs of its US customers. Focusing on CDP’s strengths in product and technology innovation, particularly in healthcare, the new facility will open this month (February 2019) in North Carolina.

‘We are very much looking forward to opening this new technically-led base on the East Coast,’ says Jez Clements, partner at CDP. ‘A large and growing proportion of our work is helping US companies innovate and this will enhance the services we offer.’

The new base is sited within a state-of-the-art innovation centre in Raleigh, North Carolina, an area known as the ‘Research Triangle’, thanks to its three universities and the cities of Raleigh (the state capital), Chapel Hill and Durham. ‘There has been a research park here since the 1950s and there is a strong pool of local talent to help us expand here in the future,’ says Jez.

‘Our specialisms in innovation, technology, product design and manufacturing engineering span right across the consumer, healthcare and digital sectors, for which there is a high demand in the US. Our experience includes developing everything from safety-critical professional medical devices, connected and digital solutions, toys, consumer electronics and branded fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG). We are increasingly aware that our growing US business needs its own facility nearby.’

CDP’s new base will be led by Aki Laakso, an experienced mechanical engineer by background, who worked at CDP in the UK for many years before moving to the US in 2016. Also heading up the new facility is Hans Pflaumer, a mechanical engineer with specific experience in medical robotics and drug delivery systems.

‘Our East Coast US customers have expressed a desire for us to have an office within their time zone, and North Carolina is also convenient for Boston and New York,’ explains Jez. ‘This facility will also widen our recruitment reach to the very best international talent.’

The new facility is another step on the journey CDP is making to move closer to its international customers. Founded over 22 years ago in Cambridge, UK, CDP has clients all over the world and, while healthcare innovation remains it’s largest sector, projects range from cookware to complex digital systems.

‘Specialising in healthcare, consumer, and digital innovation, our solutions start at the point a business decides upon the need for innovation and finishes with the launch of a breakthrough new product that is customer-focused and commercially effective,’ explains Jez. ‘Our product development and prototype manufacturing quality systems are certified to ISO 13485/9001, the internationally-agreed standard for medical devices.’

‘We’re delighted both to be opening a base on the East Coast and also to welcome Aki Laakso back to CDP. We look forward to many fruitful projects being developed at our new US base,’ says Jez. ‘Increasingly, we are working globally and it may well be that we establish further bases, particularly in the Far East. These are very exciting times for CDP.’