Paragon Bank provides £1.6M to Datum Tool Design for 22-metre 5-axis CNC machine

Paragon Bank has provided £1.6 million in asset finance to Datum Tool Design, a Lisburn, Northern Ireland-based aerospace tooling specialist, to acquire a PROMAC SHARAV HGVT 4.0 5-axis machining centre. The machine, measuring 22 metres in length, is the largest of its type in Ireland and will enable Datum to manufacture larger and more complex composite tooling, assembly fixtures, and drill tooling in-house. The investment is supported by grant funding from the Aerospace Technology Institute and is part of a broader capital programme that includes a new facility. The deal was introduced by Paul Close Finance and led by Paragon Bank’s Joe Blanthorn and Terry Lloyd.

This investment sits at the intersection of aerospace tooling and advanced subtractive manufacturing, a critical but often invisible enabler for AM adoption in production aerospace. Datum’s core business—high-precision composite tooling and assembly fixtures—directly supports the layup, curing, and assembly of composite airframe structures, which are increasingly designed for AM-produced tooling inserts and lightweight brackets. The acquisition of a 22-metre 5-axis machine signals that Datum is scaling its capacity to handle larger monolithic tooling, reducing reliance on multi-piece assemblies and improving dimensional accuracy. This is the kind of capital-intensive, non-AM equipment that makes AM’s production promise viable in aerospace, where tooling quality determines part repeatability and certification cost.

From an AM industry perspective, this is a reminder that the value chain for aerospace production is not limited to powder bed fusion or DED machines. The tooling that holds, positions, and cures AM-produced parts is itself a precision manufacturing challenge, and companies like Datum that invest in large-format subtractive capacity are essential partners for AM service bureaus and OEMs targeting serial production. The practical takeaway is that Datum’s expanded capability will likely shorten lead times for aerospace customers in the UK and Ireland, particularly for programmes at Airbus, Bombardier, and BAE Systems, where tooling delivery confidence is a gating factor for production schedules.