Sagentia Group’s heritage has always been closely linked to that of the 'Cambridge Phenomenon' – the high technology cluster based around Cambridge University in the UK that emerged in the 1980s. Our founder Professor Gordon Edge is one of a small number of key individuals who have played a central role in the development of the cluster into the globally recognised position that it occupies today.

From our launch in 1986 as Scientific Generics the central characteristic of the company has been a drive to innovate and to create value from technology. This is enabled by a corporate culture in which there is a minimal hierarchy, and in which project teams are built from the best people for the job. Vigorous interaction between peers is encouraged, as is individual freedom. Most importantly there is a strong emphasis on the polymath – the person whose knowledge base encompasses both technology expertise and business acumen.

The company grew through the 80s and 90s, moving Headquarters from our initial base near the Cambridge Science Park to our current location just south of the city of Cambridge in 1995. During this period Catella AB became our major shareholder, building a relationship which continues today.

By the millennium we had established a strong international business presence, with major clients in the USA, and several European countries. In 2000 an IPO and listing on the LSE main market enabled us to initiate a pipeline of ventures and investments aimed at commercialising intellectual property, and this in turn helped us build broader and deeper business relationships with clients and co-investors. We expanded the Harston site dramatically, helping to accommodate many of the new ventures, and growing into today’s dynamic and attractive campus.

In the same period it became clear that globalisation is an accelerating reality, and we responded by systematically growing our resources internationally; opening a new facility in Frankfurt, making substantial investments in our battery and energy systems business in Sweden, and building core operational capabilities in the USA by making an acquisition in Baltimore. This we have developed into a key centre for our Design and Build service. Most recently we have established a joint venture based in Hong Kong which (with our business partner Automatic International) enables us to offer our clients an integrated service from product breakthrough design to world class manufacture.

In 2006, twenty years after our launch, we decided to change our name to Sagentia. We believe this new name fits with our future development plans and helps describe how we create value.

Today we are a company that brings together expertise in technology, design and customer insights to realise richer solutions that generate better business opportunities for our clients. And our founding culture of innovation and commercial orientation has strengthened and focused into the unique characteristic which is the driving force behind our success – Collective Technology Wisdom.