Portslade company presented with Queen’s Award

The Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex has presented a Portslade company with a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for international trade.

Lord Lieutenant Peter Field handed the award on behalf of the Queen to Blue Design, which trades as D3O, at its premises in North Street, Portslade.

The innovative company said that it licensed a range of smart materials which provided protection and absorbed shocks.

Its technology is used in products to protect mobile phones and tablets made by the likes of Apple and Samsung.

The company said: “This market-changing technology is used to produce a shock absorbing material which can be found in a range of products across the motorcycle, sport, footwear, electronics, military and workwear sectors.

“D3O was proven during the 2006 Winter Olympics, when the US and Canadian ski teams pioneered D3O’s revolutionary soft armour.

“With no compromise on protection, D3O overnight changed the global protective wear market with a range of low-profile, lightweight, flexible and breathable limb protectors.”

D3O chief executive Stuart Sawyer was presented with the award at a ceremony attended by customers, staff and civic dignitaries.

It came after six years of strong performance in international trade with significant growth shown in exports – 35 per cent in 2013 and even more expected this year. In 2013 the company said that 88 per cent of its sales were exports.

Mr Sawyer said: “D3O was a small company of 15 people with some great ideas when I took over as CEO in 2010.

“It has been a great journey and I am proud to see the company grow from its small roots in Hove to a team of 60 in our Portslade offices and trading in 40 countries around the world.

“I am pleased for everyone in the company to be acknowledged for our work and significant export growth.

“Our international strategy is starting to take hold with good effect, with over 40 per cent of sales now being generated from North America.

“We remain committed to expanding both our technology and our global footprint for our patented, innovative, protective solutions.

“This is a particularly interesting period for us as we prepare our next stage of growth.”