2017: the year in review
What a year it has been! Globally, thanks to a number of political and economic uncertainties, it’s been interesting to say the least. Here at Hansford Sensors, it’s been no less eventful, but certainly much more positive! Let’s look back on what has been an excellent 12 months for our company and share some of 2017’s highlights with you.
As our expansion plans ramp up, we saw our exports continue to expand throughout the year, again reflecting our impressive 20% year-on-year growth in overseas sales. In fact, this year, exports accounted for almost 90% of our total production output, fuelling further investment in our production facilities, including extended test and development, quality control and assembly departments.
Our export achievements also did not go unrecognised. This year we won a prestigious EEF Future Manufacturing Award for export achievement in the South East regional category and we’re now in the process of going forward to compete at a national level. The judges were impressed by our carefully planned export strategy and by the way in which we’ve developed directly owned sales offices in key countries, supported by a wider network of sales partners.
Indeed, winning awards is becoming something of a trend for the team here at Hansford Sensors! This year saw us gaining the title of ‘International Trader of the Year and Growth Business of the Year’ at the 2017 Buckinghamshire Business Awards. Founded a little over a decade ago in High Wycombe, we’ve gone from strength to strength over the intervening years and we think this local business award is well deserved!
While it’s our business strategy that is enabling this growth, it’s our commitment to developing and supplying leading vibration monitoring solutions that underpins our success. For this reason, as you can imagine, we’ve not been standing still as far as new product introductions are concerned. 2017 saw the launch of our new HS-ICE intrinsically safe connection enclosure for industrial and process vibration monitoring. This multi-channel unit can be configured from one to 24 channels, allowing readings to be taken quickly and simply from a central point.
We also introduced our new IP67 sealed HS-173R triaxial vibration sensor, which is capable of providing simultaneous measurements in three axes, and an oil, rust and corrosion resistant FEP cable for harsh industrial environments. Highly flexible and resistant to abrasion and tearing, the FEP cable is also able to operate in temperatures ranging from -80°C to 200°C.
We seized the opportunity to share these new products with the asset management community at trade shows around the world, including IMVAC, Maintec and SPS IPC Drives, among others. We couldn’t be happier with the feedback that we’ve received. We’ll be carrying this momentum into 2018 and once again showcasing our products at a number of events during the year. You can stay up to date with those events here.
Last but by no means least, we couldn’t end this review without mentioning Tom Ingram’s success in securing third place in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC). The 24-year-old Hansford Sensors-sponsored driving ace from Buckinghamshire was also crowned champion of the Independent Standings and single-handedly earned Speedworks Motorsport 425 points to win the Independent Teams trophy – in only his fourth BTCC series. It truly is an incredible achievement and we couldn’t be more proud of him and the team!
As you can see, it’s been a very interesting year here at Hansford Sensors! We’ll soon be celebrating Christmas, before resuming business as usual for what looks to be another great 12 months. However, before 2018 gets underway, we’d like to wish you a Merry Christmas and happy New Year from the entire Hansford Sensors team.
