WASHINGTON, United States--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As a result of six years of unprecedented growth and strong export sales D3O, the British smart materials specialist, today celebrates being named a winner of a Queen’s Award for Enterprise – the UK’s highest accolade for business success. The company, whose sales grew 34% last year and will see revenues of £8.5m this year, has been recognised for International Trade after demonstrating not just growth in absolute sales, but also in the percentage it exports which has grown from 62% in 2007 to 88% in 2013.
D3O is a groundbreaking impact protection solutions company which sells and licenses a range of unique patented smart materials. The company’s branded ingredient technology is found in a wide range of products and applications across 6 core markets (sports, industrial workwear, law enforcement and military, footwear, electronics and motorcycle protection in apparel). Its global customer base includes leading brands and organisations such as American Football helmet manufacturer Schutt Sports, Furygan the French motorcycle brand, Burton Snowboards, Snickers Workwear as well as the US Special Forces.
Commenting on the award CEO, Stuart Sawyer said; “ We are delighted to be recognised for our work and significant growth in exporting our technology, this comes at a very exciting time for our company as we prepare to enter our next stage of growth. Continued international expansion is key to our strategy with over 40% of overseas sales currently being generated from North America. We remain committed to expanding both our technology and our footprint around the world, offering our patented, innovative, protective solutions to our customers.”
D3O’s protective products were first used during the 2006 Winter Olympics in ski race suits for the US and Canadian teams. In the last 12 months, D3O has developed high performance helmet liner systems for the US team sports market including American Football and Baseball and recently been awarded funding from the UK’s innovation agency, the Technology Strategy Board, to develop a new Shock Absorption Helmet System for soldiers to reduce Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI and mTBI). The project aims to reduce the severity and occurrence of mTBI and TBI by mitigating the blunt trauma impact force caused by Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blasts through the use of D3O technology and materials.
Momentum for the company continues to build, having been named National Champion in the European Business Awards for its helmet developments as part of the UKTI Award for Innovation and is now in the running, against the other European finalists, for the prestigious Ruban D’Honneur at the 2014 European Business Awards (announced May 2014).
D3O’s unique patented technology is used to make a soft and flexible material with high shock absorbing properties. In standard conditions the material’s molecules flow freely, allowing the material to be soft and flexible, but on impact, lock together to dissipate the impact energy and reduce the transmitted force.
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About D3O
• D3O is a groundbreaking British impact protection solutions company that manufactures a range of patented smart materials with enhanced impact protection and shock absorbing properties.
• The company’s success was born out of the 2006 Winter Olympics, where they provided protective solutions to the US and Canadian ski teams.
• D3O impact protection solutions have been integrated into thousands of products worldwide and are used in 6 core markets including sports, electronics, industrial workwear, law enforcement and military protection, motorcycle and footwear.
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