BELFAST tech firm Sensoteq has secured a £500,000 loan to grow its sales and expand its workforce - and it already has plans to create 10 more jobs over the next year.
Established in 2016, Sensoteq is a market leading provider of wireless machine health monitoring solutions.
Founders Alan McCall and Idir Boudaoud saw the opportunity for wireless sensing technology suitable for heavy duty industrial environments to monitor the performance and efficiency of machines.
Designed to cut costs and reduce unplanned downtime, the sensors wirelessly connect the machinery to the internet, providing instant analysis and diagnostics.
Sensoteq’s products are currently used across a wide range of industries including automotive, pharmaceutical, mining, oil and gas, renewable energies, waste recycling, and food and beverage.
Manufactured in Northern Ireland, the sensors are exported across the globe with the company boasting customers in North America, South America, the Middle East and Australia.
Following an ongoing period of growth, the company reached record sales last March and has an ambitious strategy to increase sales significantly over the next two years.
Currently employing 27 staff across engineering, management, operations, finance and sales, it says it will use the funding to expand its team, creating 10 more jobs at its headquarters in the Gasworks.
Its £500,000 loan was provided by Whiterock Finance’s Growth Finance Fund (www.whiterockfinance.co.uk), which is backed by the British Business Bank, Invest NI and the Northern Ireland Local Government Officers’ Superannuation Committee (NILGOSC). It lends amounts up to £2m from its £30m pot.
Sensoteq chief executive Idir Boudaoud said: “Over the past 12 months we have achieved significant growth and we have plans to continue that trajectory by expanding our team and developing our customer base globally. The funding will help us implement our sales strategy as we build our network of distributors to move into new markets.”
Rhona Barbour, investment director at Whiterock Finance, added: “Sensoteq has ambitious sales targets in the coming year, and we are excited to support them through our Growth Finance Fund as they embark on the next stage of their journey.
“With a versatile range of products and a solid customer base across various industries the company has huge potential to grow into global markets and across new sectors. As they work to expand their team, we’re looking forward to seeing what they do next.”
