Invention from Portsmouth firm receives recognition from Her Majesty The Queen

A PORTABLE fume hood designed by a Portsmouth firm has received the Royal stamp of approval.
By kimberley.barber1
Published 25th Apr 2019, 19:13 BST
Updated 29th Apr 2019, 11:59 BST
Sean Codling, managing director, with the Lab Bubble that was awarded. Picture: Sarah Standing (250419-7123)Sean Codling, managing director, with the Lab Bubble that was awarded. Picture: Sarah Standing (250419-7123)
Sean Codling, managing director, with the Lab Bubble that was awarded. Picture: Sarah Standing (250419-7123)

CTS Europe was given a Queen’s Awards for Enterprise in Innovation for its unique, industry award winning, simple to use portable fume hood.

The firm, in Ackworth Road, was one of 201 businesses named as the best in the country in the prestigious Queen’s Awards for Enterprise to celebrate Her Majesty’s 93rd birthday.

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The awards, now in its 53rd year, are the most prestigious awards for UK businesses.

Sean Codling, managing director, with staff. Picture: Sarah Standing (250419-7120)Sean Codling, managing director, with staff. Picture: Sarah Standing (250419-7120)
Sean Codling, managing director, with staff. Picture: Sarah Standing (250419-7120)

Sean Codling, CTS Europe managing director, said they were proud to have received such Royal recognition.

He said: ‘It is fantastic. We are just a small company and to receive such an honour is very good. We are not even 10 years into business and we have developed a product that is outstanding. It has done its job, and its success is allowing us to grow our business as we develop the product further.’

CTS Europe won the award for its hood, called 'Lab-Bubble', which has a free-standing table top design, requires no additional extraction equipment and can be configured for many different applications.

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Sean said the product is visually attractive and complies to all international performance standards. It is easy to install by the user, no installation engineers are required which means it can be installed anywhere in the world no matter the voltage or facility setup. The unique design of the product encourages safe handling of hazardous chemicals.

CTS, which employs 19 staff, was set up in 2010. Sean said he believes his team’s focus on future growth is what sets it apart from its competitors.

He said: ‘Everything we make is UK designed and all our suppliers are from the UK. We are very much focused on the long term. We plan for years ahead and we are loyal to both our customers and staff. We have a nice working environment and we are always developing.’

This year’s Queen’s Award winners include businesses leading the way in a huge range of industries – from construction, agriculture, motoring and software development.

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Three quarters of the total are SMEs, 30 of which have fewer than 10 employees. They will join more than 6,000 British businesses in receiving the prestigious honour and will have the privilege of displaying the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise emblem for five years.

Also winning a Queen’s Awards for Enterprise in Innovation was Captec, in Fareham, which manufactures specialist computer equipment. Easyskinz, in Fareham, which manufactures skins for smartphones and electronic devices was given an award for International Trade, as was Universal Smart Cards, a smart card supplier which has a base in Portsmouth.

Applications for the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise 2020 open on May 1. They are free to enter, and it is a self-nominating process.

For more go to gov.uk/queens-awards-for-enterprise.

Related topics:PortsmouthQueen's Awards for EnterpriseFareham