II-VI: The formula for innovation in the heart of County Durham | The Northern Echo

Like lots of children, he had a model train set, but he didn’t call for parental help when it broke down. Instead, he’d concentrate on figuring out what was going wrong, and how to get it back on track.

“I was just born with an inquiring mind and was always asking questions: why is the sky blue; how do planes get off the ground when they’re so heavy?” he recalls.

Today, Ian is still striving to find solutions, but on a global scale, as the newly appointed general manager of the County Durham plant operated by world-leading semiconductors company II-VI Incorporated (pronounced two-six).

He brings with him a wealth of experience in innovation, product development, and manufacturing, but took little persuasion to convince him to take on the challenge of coming to Newton Aycliffe to drive II-VI through its latest period of expansion.

“We have a rich history of making really cool stuff over half a century, and we have the opportunity to leverage that experience to make a difference to the products of today and tomorrow,” says Ian. “Our goal is to more than double the existing workforce in all areas of the business, so these are exciting times for the company, and I’m thrilled to be part of it.”

So, what is II-VI Incorporated – a business occupying a prominent location close to the entrance of Aycliffe Business Park – all about? The Pennsylvania-based company, which is marking its 50th anniversary this year, is a market leader in providing advanced semiconductor products to leading players in the defence, aerospace, automotive, and consumer electronics industries.

II-VI Incorporated’s acquisition of the 300,000 square feet former Fujitsu plant, on Millennium Way, was announced in the summer of 2017. Dr Chuck Mattera, president and CEO, said at the time: “This facility hosts one of the best clean rooms in the entire compound semiconductor industry, and augments our capabilities at a time when industry capacity is becoming fully subscribed.”

Four years on, II-VI has now announced a huge vote of confidence in the Newton Aycliffe site by giving the go-ahead for major investment in its III-V compound semiconductor technology platform in the UK, in order to sustain long-term growth and secure its global position as a market leader.

 And in choosing Ian Croston to deliver the right results for customers and stakeholders, it has secured the services of a man who was born to be an engineer.

“My father was a senior maintenance engineer at the Nestlè chocolate factory, in York, so I have him to thank for passing on the engineering DNA, he explains.

Ian’s mother was an administrator at a local college, and he credits both his parents with giving him a strong work ethic. After winning a scholarship with the Joseph Rowntree Trust, he became the first in his family to go to university, studying Materials Science and Engineering at Sheffield, and specialising in opto-electronics.

He began his career in the defence sector in the late 1980s, working with GEC-Marconi, at Chelmsford, developing new optical devices for use in the embryonic opto-electronics industry.

“In those days, there was a lot of investment going into advanced microwave and optical communications, and I was lucky to be able to pursue research in compound semiconductor materials,” he recalls.

His next step was to join a start-up company, working in opto-electronics, and the business grew rapidly from five to 200 employees. “That job took me from product development to product management,” he says. “I met a lot of great customers in the US and Canada, who were driving the race to improve fibre-optic solutions, which we take for granted today.”

Ian went on to work for HID Global, a manufacturer of secure identity products, based in Austin, Texas, where he learned how to manage teams across different continents and time zones.

“The products are interesting but, ultimately, leadership is all about people,” he insists.

Along the way, Ian, a father-of-two, also built up a working knowledge of the North-East of England by spending two years with Johnson Matthey at Billingham, and now his career path has led to Newton Aycliffe after he was contacted in the summer and invited to apply for his current role at II-VI Incorporated.

“I immediately liked the look of the job and, once I’d spoken to Chuck Mattera, our CEO, and he talked about the new investment in the facility here in the UK, I knew the job had my name written all over it,” he says.

“I love the scale of the challenge here because it’s based on a new platform that will be unique to our customers across the globe. I couldn’t walk away from a challenge like that. I had other opportunities, but I knew this was the one that would get me out of bed in the morning.

“I’m very driven and this role excites me. I love being at the coalface, working with our customers, building and leading teams towards success. My role is to make sure my people are successful and that I get the best out of them.”

As the business grows, there are vacancies for operators, supervisors, maintenance engineers and process engineers, as well as opportunities in human resources, IT, facilities, and health and safety. In particular, II-VI is looking for people with specific semiconductor manufacturing experience, with a series of job fairs having been held in recent weeks.

And Ian doesn’t hesitate in boldly saying that his goal is to make II-VI Incorporated’s Newton Aycliffe base the best employer in the area.

“Newton Aycliffe is such a great location, with outstanding transport links because the A1 motorway, as well as Teesside, Newcastle and Leeds-Bradford airports are all within easy reach, along with vibrant cities such as Newcastle, Durham, and York. It’s also on the edge of glorious countryside such as the Yorkshire Dales and the North Yorkshire Moors, so it’s just an excellent place to work,” he declares.

“We have an outstanding facility at Newton Aycliffe and II-VI is investing wisely in its expansion of the site. That means there are some great roles across all aspects of the business, with the opportunity to work with some brilliant people.

“We also have an excellent compensation package, and I’m proud to be entrusted with the responsibility of developing a world-class team. Delivering on our commitments over the coming year and building a scalable process and team will be the main measures of our success.”

Just like he’s done since he was a small boy and throughout his career, Ian Croston will be striving to find solutions. And this time, his inquiring mind will be focused on Newton Aycliffe – helping II-VI Incorporated to make a difference to millions of lives across the world.

WHERE DID THE NAME COME FROM?

THE company’s name is pronounced ‘Two-Six’ Incorporated. The Roman numerals refer to groups II and VI of the periodic table of elements. By chemically combining elements from these two groups, the company produced infra-red optical crystalline compounds to be used in optics for CO2 lasers. It was so significant that the company’s co-founder, Dr. Carl J. Johnson, named the company II-VI.