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ENTREPRENEUR bqlive.co.uk
to make it commercially-viable, but 20 years of research at Durham had solved the problem.” Robinson founded Kromek, a radiation detection technology company – originally called Durham Scientific Crystals – in 2003 and provided the required seed capital in his role as a business angel. The firm began with two members of staff in the university’s incubation centre, but grew quickly and in 2005 became the first tenant at NETPark, a technology park at Sedgefield in County Durham. During the same year, the company secured finance from Amphion Innovations, a venture capital fund with branches in London and New York. One of Kromek’s first customers was the European Space Agency (ESA), which bought specialist material from the company. As well as producing CZT to detect radiation, Kromek began moving up the value-chain by producing its own sensors and components and eventually its own devices for end-users. Climbing the value-chain involved the company making two acquisitions. In 2010, Kromek bought California-based Nova R&D, which boosted the British firm’s expertise in how to incorporate its sensors into broader electronic components. Three years later, Kromek took over Pennsylvania-based EV Products, which has expertise in deciphering the signals produced by the CZT crystals when they detect radiation. During 2013, Kromek also joined AIM, raising £13.4 million to fund the next stage of its development. “We’ve done a lot of things that small university spin-outs aren’t meant to do,” Robinson says with a broad grin. “University spin-outs from the North-East aren’t meant to go to America and buy companies there. They’re also not meant to get to the stage where they get support from seasoned investors in the capital markets. “We joined the stock market because we
“Managing our IP was very, very important when it came to attracting funding. I find that people – especially in high-tech businesses – won’t invest at all unless they can see some protection for their money”
needed to raise the money to help give the company the critical mass it needed to succeed. We work in the medical imaging, nuclear
is now only rarely seen as a small university
California.
detection and security screening markets and
spin-out. The company employs more than
Revenues for 2014-15 increased by 36%
these are all multi-billion pound industries in
110 people spread across its head office in
year-on-year to £8.1m. The business doubled
which you need scale. We had been successful
Sedgefield, its research and development (R&D)
its manufacturing capacity in the UK and won
in raising private equity money, and listing was a
base at the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre
major contracts, including from Innovate UK –
natural next step.”
in Huddersfield and its American bases at
previously known as the Technology Strategy
It’s a testament to Kromek’s success that it
Saxonburg in Pennsylvania and Riverside in
Board – and from a number of agencies in the