A 60 per cent increase in staff has been achieved since January by laser measurement technology specialist, Measurement Devices Ltd (MDL) which moved into new offices in York a year ago.

MDL has grown its York staff headcount at Acer House, Northminster Business Park, by relocating its research and development team from Scotland and creating new technical and marketing posts. Overall MDL staff numbers have increased from 30 to 42 during the last 6 months.

A major factor in MDL’s growth is continuing global demand for all its products but particularly its borehole deployable laser scanner, C-ALS, for surveying abandoned or damaged underground mines where sales of each unit, which cost £50,000, has doubled from initial projections.

Increased demand for C-ALS and other eye-safe laser products has been supported by strengthening the company’s global marketing team at its 6,000 sq ft, purpose-built premises in York and its production base in Aberdeen, Scotland.

As well as breaking into the defence sector, MDL has made inroads to major markets in the Far East and South America and plans to increase its penetration into Australia this autumn.

MDL founder and managing director, Steve Ball, says: “We relocated much of our operation to York to take advantage of the excellent facilities including good road and air connections, the availability of skilled labour and a good working environment.

“We are still recruiting programmers and electronics development staff and now have sales, business development and research under one roof which enables faster and more responsive reaction to customer and market demands.

“Laser measurement technology is creating many new possibilities across a wide range of markets, improving health and safety and enhancing speed and efficiency of measurement. We originally anticipated selling between ten and 15 of our high value C-ALS systems a year but current demand is for 30 and rising.”

“We have high expectations that our current level of sales growth will continue to accelerate and we fully expect to be a £20m business within two years.”

MDL, which generates 80 per cent of its sales outside the UK, also has a base in Houston, Texas.

05/09/07 10:06am