Spectrum Technologies announced as winner of the King’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade 2025

Spectrum Technologies is delighted to announce that it has been named a recipient of the King’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade 2025, in recognition of the company’s outstanding growth in export sales over the last three years.

Spectrum Technologies Ltd was founded in 1989 to commercialise leading-edge industrial laser technology and has since established itself as the world’s leading supplier of specialised laser wire processing systems to the international aerospace industry. These laser systems are used to mark identity codes and process the hundreds of miles of wire and cable used in the production of complex aircraft electrical wiring systems.

Since achieving its first export sales to Germany and the USA in 1992, Spectrum’s sales have grown strongly, with exports typically representing over 95% of total annual sales.

After a challenging period during Covid, when sales reduced significantly to just over £5 million, the Company has bounced back, with sales and exports more than doubling. In the three years covered by the Award (up to 31 March 2024), Spectrum’s total annual sales increased from £6.27 million to £10.24 million, with exports rising from £5.85 million to £9.95 million respectively. Total sales to 31 March 2025 increased further to £11.26 million, with exports reaching £10.83 million.

The Company’s top export destination has been the USA, where its products have historically been in strong demand from the aerospace industry. The rebound has been driven by a surge in demand for post-Covid travel, which has fuelled record orders and backlogs for the major aircraft manufacturers. This in turn has generated strong demand and new orders for Spectrum’s latest generation of laser wire marking and processing systems. During the last year covered by the Award, sales to the US accounted for 65% of total revenue, followed by China with 11%, while overall exports reached 97.2% of total sales.

Dr Peter Dickinson, Chairman, said:

“We are really delighted and honoured to receive our first King’s Award, which we can now add to our three previous Queen’s Awards. This is recognition for the hard work and determination of our dedicated team of employees who have helped turn the Company’s fortunes around after a very difficult period during Covid, which hit the aerospace sector particularly badly. The strong growth in sales since Covid reflects our position as the leading supplier of specialised laser wire processing equipment to the global aerospace industry, and the demand for our technology and the latest generation of our products.”

Tens of thousands of individual wires are used to make up the complex electrical wiring system for an aircraft, adding up to between 50 and 300 miles of wiring per aircraft depending on size. Virtually all aircraft, and many spacecraft, now rely on ultraviolet (UV) laser marking technology pioneered by Spectrum to process and mark unique identification codes on each wire to aid assembly and maintenance.

Boeing and Airbus are key customers, along with their Tier 1 and 2 suppliers. At any moment in time, there are around 12,000 commercial aircraft in the air around the globe, containing a combined total of about one million miles of wiring – all marked using UV laser technology. In addition, Spectrum’s products are used by space launch system manufacturers, including SpaceX, as well as for the wiring on interplanetary probes. The electrical system on NASA’s Insight probe, which landed on Mars in 2018, was manufactured by Lockheed Space using one of the Company’s wire markers. Lucy, another NASA probe, is now on its way to the orbit of Jupiter, with two miles of laser-marked wire on board – again processed using Spectrum’s products.

Spectrum Technologies won its first Queen’s Award for Export in 1995, followed by Queen’s Awards for International Trade in 2000 and 2006. Since the Company began exporting in 1992, it has delivered just under £200 million of goods and services to customers in 60 countries worldwide.