Member Article

Night vision specialist sets its sights on expansion

A night vision product manufacturer is expecting to double turnover and create new jobs with the launch of a brand new innovation.

NiteSite, which has been supported by the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS), has developed the NiteSite ‘Spotter’, a new handheld unit that provides a guaranteed range of 400 yards.

The York-based company is entering full production on the new device and, following successful exhibitions in Germany and Las Vegas, will officially launch it to the marketplace in June.

As a result, sales are expected to hit £800,000 this year, marking a major transformation in fortunes from its launch in 2011, when all members of staff – including the directors - worked through the night to assemble more than 200 units.

Jake Horwell, European sales manager at NiteSite, said: “The Spotter is going to be extremely affordable and we expect it to be very popular with hunters and the security market.

“Our products are different because they have successfully replaced expensive technology associated with the sector, with a much simpler process that is based on the principles of a security camera system.”

The management team at NiteSite enlisted the support of the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) to help it turn the ambitious plans into reality.

Advisor John Dodgson visited the business to understand the project and develop an action plan that involved bringing in product design specialist LDT Design to help with the development process.

MAS provided funding for three consecutive projects that firstly involved concept design, market research and 2D foam sketch models then led on to a 3D CAD model of the surface which was suitable for soft tooling.

The final assistance focused on developing the 3D design so that the product could be manufactured using injection moulding production techniques and was suitable for full-scale manufacture.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Mark Lane .