A technology firm whose products are designed to reduce the risk of people contracting one of the most common industrial illnesses in the UK has moved into profit amid strong growth in sales.
Edinburgh-based Reactec made £94,000 profit in 2017, after losing £369,000 in the preceding year, as the company won a growing following for its HAVwear vibration monitoring device.
Launched by Reactec in 2016, HAVwear can be used by firms in sectors such as construction to help guard against staff contracting Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome,.
This is commonly known as Vibration White Finger. Symptoms can include numbness or complete loss of feeling in the hand.
Around 300,000 people in the UK are reckoned to suffer from the incurable condition. It has been linked with the prolonged use of power hand tools such as drills.
Reactec says its HAVwear system is based around an affordable, wrist-worn device that determines in real time an individual’s exposure to vibration during use of such tools.
The system sounds an alarm if safety thresholds are exceeded.
By the end of 2017, the company had shipped over 20,000 HAVwear units. Some 550 companies and organisations had signed up to use the Reactec Analytics Platform, which is used for the remote recording and analysis of vibration exposure.
Customers include British Airways, Morgan Sindall, the Environment Agency and over 70 local authorities
Reactec grew revenues by 35 per cent last year, to £3.6m from £2.6m.
Chief executive Jacqui McLaughlin expressed confidence in the company’s growth prospects with the issue of HAV monitoring becoming increasing high profile.
“So far this year we have visited the United States, Australia and Japan in response to increased interest from industry and thought leaders,” she noted.
Reactec recently launched a low cost “off the shelf” version of its device, called HAVRISK Kit, which is designed for smaller organisations.
A spin out from Edinburgh university Reactec secured £700,000 growth funding last year, with around a fifth of the money coming from staff. The Archangels investment syndicate and the Scottish Investment Bank provided funding.
Reactec has grown employee numbers to 37 from 25 in 2016.
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