Member Article

Ripon laser entrepreneur's consultancy acquires first business

A Ripon business development and investment consultancy founded by a Yorkshire laser measurement industry entrepreneur has acquired its first business.

Caenby Ltd, Ripon, launched by founder of eye-safe laser measurement business Measurement Devices Ltd (MDL), York, Steve Ball, has acquired Cord-Ordinated Surveys Ltd, LLandudno, Wales, a laser surveying company that develops bespoke software, for a substantial but undisclosed sum.

Co-ordinated Surveys will now undergo a vigorous business development programme which will include investing in new 3D mapping technology and launching new services which will be rolled out nationally.

Steve Ball, who founded MDL in 1983, built up the business, based in Aberdeen, York, Melbourne, Ottawa and Houston, into a global technology developer and supplier, before selling the company to Renishaw Plc, Gloucestershire, two years ago.

Steve says: “Co-Ordinated Surveys is a highly skilled and experienced operation and its software-writing abilities, which we used with our quarrying and mining laser measurement products at MDL, are the industry gold standard.

This expertise is crucial and their programs are designed to comply with specific industry sector regulations which is rarely the case with modern off-the-shelf software which is also hard to adapt.

Steve Ball said Caenby Ltd is also enabling Co-Ordinated Surveys to invest in the latest mobile mapping systems which appiy the same laser technology on mobile platforms to measure road surfaces, building facades, streets and monuments at traffic speeds after beingmounted on a vehicle, ATV or, for marine applications, a boat.

Co-Ordinated Surveys, founded in 1978, currently has nine staff and operates throughout the UK and overseas. Director, Bryan Edwards says: “We have every confidence that Steve Ball’s flair in laser surveying technology, his eye for market opportunities and our strong surveying and software development skills, will help turn us from a specialist niche company into a far larger one.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .