SEA was named as the winner of Innovation of the Year at the 2019 Make UK Manufacturing Awards South for its development of a technology for detecting submarines.
SEA was awarded Innovation of the Year for the development of KraitArray™, an ultra-thin-line towed array, used for detecting underwater acoustic signals. With anti-submarine technology benefitting from being as slim line and lightweight as possible, SEA’s solution reduces the size of an existing towed array by over 90% while improving the performance of the sensor.
The function at Aerospace Bristol also saw William Harvey, SEA’s Mechanical Engineering Apprentice, highly commended for the Apprentice of the Year award.
William Harvey was commended for his assistance in the design and build of traffic enforcement technology systems. The ROADflow systems are currently used across 50 sites in the UK and are designed to enhance safety at railway level crossings. William helped improve the manufacturing process and decrease the production time of the ROADflow system.
Commenting on the Innovation of the Year Award, Paul McCarthy, Integrated Electronic System Director, SEA, said: “The development of the KraitArray™ builds on SEA’s 30 years’ experience in manufacturing sonar systems. We identified the need for a cost-effective solution which offers high performance underwater acoustic sensing, and through extensive research and development, have been able to successfully miniaturise complex acoustic sensors. The technology has opened up new global opportunities for SEA, and we are delighted that this award has recognised the work of our highly talented design and engineering teams in developing this unique capability.”
Discussing SEA’s success at the Make UK Manufacturing Awards South, Steve Hill, Managing Director, SEA, said: “To come away with Innovation of the Year is a fantastic achievement and demonstrates SEA’s commitment to innovative product development and manufacturing excellence. It was also fantastic to see our talented apprentice William Harvey highly commended for his work at SEA, William has shown outstanding skill and determination and we’re proud of his achievement.”
