MRT to Expand Globally from its New Humber HQ

Beverley-based Marine Rescue Technologies (MRT) is targeting UK and global markets after an ambitious multi-million pound expansion and investment.

The company manufactures specialist man overboard monitoring, alerting and tracking systems and has invested in new manufacturing and assembly facilities and offices, increasing its suite of products, and its employee numbers in the process.

Ken Gaunt, left, chief executive of MRT, with David Marshall, the company's founder

Operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of Mobilarm, which is listed on the Australian Perth exchange (ASX:MBO), this is a company with big plans, says chief executive officer, Ken Gaunt, including opening new premises abroad and in the UK.

"We are here, we mean business and we're really excited about the opportunities the next few years will bring," said Mr Gaunt, who
has seen staff headcount in Beverley rise steadily since 2012, from 13 to 28.

"We have already invested millions in facilities, resources, employees, product development and training in the first phase of investment and expansion. As a business we want to lead the industry with innovation and passion to constantly improve maritime safety. Our business is dedicated to saving the man in the water."

MRT is a world leader in specialist man overboard monitoring, alerting and tracking systems for a number of sectors, including oil & gas, helicopter transfer, offshore wind farms, aqua culture, seismic and general maritime.

Its customers include ABP, Bond Aviation Group, BP, Bristow Group, CGG, Western Geco, Siemens, PGS, CHC Helicopter, Shell and Total, to name a few.
MRT offers flexible financial solutions including a turnkey rental option that provides an annual recertification via an exchange service, which is also available through a global, dedicated reseller network.

As well as Marshall House, Grovehill Road, Beverley, the company operates in Australia with offices in Perth and Sydney, and in Nigeria through a joint-venture partner.

This is a list of operational bases is set to grow.

"We will open new facilities in Aberdeen and in the US in Houston, Texas, in the foreseeable future, extending our global reach so that moving forward and buoyed by our new products and facilities, we fully expect our customer rental and service base to grow significantly in the coming two to three years.

"We have a very different vision to other companies in the sector as 100 per cent of our focus is on the man overboard market – we are a sophisticated, specialist, dedicated man overboard business."

This clarity of focus can be seen in new product developments to clearly meet market requirements, such as the new helicopter transfer beacon.

"We are at the cutting edge of this field, and the new sMRT AU10 HT helicopter transfer beacon with its automatic identification system (AIS) is the first of its kind in the industry."

Other new products include the groundbreaking sMRT V100, also with AIS and DSC.

"We will continue to invest in new technology with our own R&D facilities, trialling products to suit specific market requirements while leading the market with compliance to national and international regulatory standards."

This includes the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and the Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services (RTCM) standards, which bring much needed compliance to an unregulated global market.

"As far as regulation is concerned, we know what is coming and are looking to grow our rental and service customer base to meet the regulatory and market challenges ahead," said Mr Gaunt.