| Zettlex sensors in demand from US Navy |
| Written by Sam Fountain | ||||
| Monday, 26 November 2007 | ||||
Page 1 of 2 A ‘wacky’ idea for sensor technology, born of two Cambridge-based engineers, has given local company Zettlex access to multi-billion dollar markets.Its unique, ultra-durable technology has won contracts from high-level customers around the world in aerospace, the oil industry and increasingly the military, including the US Navy. Just three years after the company’s emergence from its birthplace in a shed, Zettlex has tripled revenues year-on-year and made huge strides into the lucrative aerospace market. It is close to a major deal in the arena of unmanned aerial vehicles. Despite the Newton-based firm’s virtually indestructible sensor technology winning over customers all across Europe and the US and generating “more work than you can shake a stick at,” the company has shunned the Cambridge route of rapid expansion through external investment, preferring to promote strong organic growth through word of mouth and hard work. Zettlex has turned a modest, £25k proof of concept grant from EEDA into a considerable sales pipeline, one which the company believes could account for 20 per cent of its revenues next year. But aerospace is just one industry among many that are waking up to the potential of Zettlex’s distinctive technology. “We had these wacky ideas about radio frequency sensing and decided to make sensors that can always read accurately, no matter what the conditions,” said Zettlex’s general manager, Mark Howard. The ability of the technology to combine reliable performance with extreme durability is a great part of the appeal for many firms, according to Howard. He said that one of his favourite roles in the company is the amazed feedback he receives from customers, who are bewildered by just how much punishment the sensors can take and remain accurate. He said: “We have a contract with the US Navy to measure the position of the catapults that launch fighter aircraft and the conditions that the sensors have to operate in are horrendous – 200 degree temperatures, and mechanical shocks of up to 1000 Gs. 100 Gs can crush a car.” |
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