Huddersfield-based Andel, Britain’s largest manufacturer of specialist in-building water, oil and gas leak detection systems, is to launch the first two in a raft of new products in the coming months as the result of a £1.2m combined research and development (R&D) investment over the last three years, a record spend for the company.
Andel, which counts The Houses of Parliament, The Pentagon, Barclays and Hong Kong International Airport as customers, will launch Bundguard5 and a multi gas leak detection system as a result of the investment; with more new innovations and product updates to follow in the coming months and years.
Mark Harris, commercial director said: “Andel was founded 26 years ago as an electronic R&D company and we’ve always recognised the need to keep investing for the future growth of the business. Following the death of our founder Ian Pogson in 2014, we took the strategic decision to triple our R&D spend and effectively reinvest 8% of turnover per year until 2021 as part of an eight-year plan to drive turnover from 2.2m in 2014 to £12m by 2022. Following the first three years of this level of investment in R&D we are on course to reach our target.”
Andel has secured many R&D accolades in its 26-year history, including the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation, the Royal Academy of Engineering & Teaching Company Directorate for ‘Engineering Excellence’ and the Department of Trade & Industry ‘Champions of Electronics Design’. The company now employs 70 people, and has a dedicated R&D department of four as well as input and involvement from right across the company. Current projects include the entire reworking of Andel’s signature Floodline water leak detection alarm systems.
