Barnstaple based business take Business Innovation of the Year gong

SEA, the Barnstaple-based defence and security electronic system specialist has won a national award

Barnstaple company SEA wins Business Innovation Of The Year award

SEA, the Barnstaple-based defence and security electronic system specialist has won a national award.

The company was named as the national winner of the 2019 Business Innovation Award at the Make UK Manufacturing Awards Gala Dinner for its development of a technology for detecting submarines.

The award commended the development of KraitArray, an ultra-thin-line towed array, used for detecting underwater submarine signals. With anti-submarine technology benefiting from being as slimline and lightweight as possible, SEA’s solution reduces the size of an existing towed array by over 90 per cent while improving the performance of the sensor.

The function at East Wintergardens, Canary Wharf on Wednesday, January 29, saw each of the regional winners compete for the national prize following a National Judging Day in December. SEA had previously been named regional winner at an event in Bristol in October.

Chris Tucker, Principal Electronics Engineer at SEA, said: “I have been working on the development of the KraitArray for most of my career, so I am exceptionally proud to have been able to play a fundamental role in developing this innovative product into the award-winning solution it is today.

“We have always been confident in our technology as it has responded to a need for cost-effective and miniaturised solutions in the burgeoning and emerging unmanned and autonomous systems market.

“We have pushed technical boundaries to provide such cutting-edge technology so to be recognised nationally against such strong competition demonstrates that this is truly a unique capability, it is a fantastic achievement.”

Steve Hill, Managing Director, SEA, added: “The work that the team have put into making the KraitArray a ‘best-in-class’ technology has been phenomenal. This project has enabled SEA to grow our market presence in naval sonar systems and secured the company’s reputation as an international supplier of cutting-edge technology within the maritime sector. The KraitArray has pushed technical boundaries and is unrivalled by its competitors, which is why this award is so well-deserved.”

For more information on SEA, visit sea.co.uk.