Devon marine tech firm expands undeterred by the pandemic
Devon marine tech firm expands undeterred by the pandemic
Totnes-based Valeport, a global leader in the manufacture and design of underwater measuring equipment has continued to innovate and grow during the COVID-19 pandemic and has launched a new company to facilitate their expansion into the Water industry.
The independent, family-owned business, which employees more than 90 people from state-of-the art facilities on the River Dart, designs and supplies precision sensors and probes to a worldwide marine customer base that includes: environmental, energy, construction, dredging, engineering, scientific research and military sectors.
The new company, Valeport Water Ltd, has been launched to provide innovative instruments to the Water industry. The opportunity to expand beyond the marine sector was something the firm, which has been supplying the subsea sector for over 50 years, had been considering as Matt Quartley, Valeport Group managing director said:
“No doubt 2020 was one of the strangest years ever, but it has also been one of our busiest. Expanding the Valeport brand to serve the water market is something that we had planned, however the pandemic has been a catalyst to push ahead with this expansion and launch a dedicated new offer.
“As we continued to grow our marine product portfolio with our expertise in optical measurements and environmental monitoring, we began to see opportunities for using this technology with the inland water sectors. Not just hydrometry and hydrology where we already had a presence, but also the drinking water and water treatment sectors. The pandemic necessitated us to look further and wider at opportunities and facilitated us bringing forward our plans to enter the inland water market”, added Matt.
Valeport Water will leverage the expertise and manufacturing capabilities of its sister company, Valeport. The firm has restructured and expanded its HQ base to facilitate the growth of Valeport Water and will take on additional staff as the new company grows.
Products in the Valeport Water portfolio including flow metres, fluorometers and turbidity sensors, loggers and telemetry systems are designed and manufactured at the firm’s riverside HQ in Totnes, Devon.
The launch of Valeport Water is part of the firm’s ambitious growth strategy as it targets market leadership in the environmental sensors sector.
“Valeport Water marks an important step change in the Valeport business. For over five decades we’ve been at the forefront of the marine sector and we’re not stepping away from that at all, but with the increasing realisation about the importance of freshwater resource in the future, we’re keen to use our expertise to also play a role in responding to the demands of this vital industry”, concluded Matt.