AN East Yorkshire company has cemented its bid to become a world leader in its field by investing in a new laser-marking machine.

Detectamet, based in Pocklington’s Industrial Estate, specialises in producing equipment predominantly for the food and drink industry that can be traceable through metal detectors.

The business was established ten years ago by Sean Smith and Angela Musson and has grown to become a worldwide specialist in product traceability technology with 167 distributors in more than 50 countries.

The company’s success has been recognised by East Yorkshire MP Sir Greg Knight, who officially switched on Detectamet’s latest piece of high-tech equipment, a laser-marking machine that enables the sequential numbering of products to boost efficient and fast traceability.

Sir Greg said: “I visit many businesses, both small and large, and I have been very impressed with what I have seen today. I am delighted that this world-leading company has located itself in Pocklington.

“The East Riding is a great place to do business and has far more going for it than many overcrowded city centres. I am sure Detectamet will continue to go from strength to strength”.

Mr Smith, of Detectamet, said: “The company was formed a decade ago with nothing more than a laptop and a good idea. We had no customers, just ambition and a determination to make a go of it.

“I’d worked in the plastics industry for 30 years, mostly serving the food sector, and Angela and I saw an opportunity to help food manufacturers and processors overcome their issues caused by contamination. The answer lies in polymers.

“With most food processing companies already checking their finished products using a metal detector, it meant these detectable tools or their parts could be found and the contaminated product rejected.”

Within six months, the company had moved from an under-the-stairs cupboard to the front room and a filing cabinet and within eight months had relocated to a small unit on the Pocklington Industrial Estate.

Today, the company employs almost 50 people, mostly recruited from the Pocklington and York area, and has its own range of more than 180 products.

Mr Smith said: “It has been an exciting first decade for Detectamet and we are already looking ahead to further growth by investing in such equipment as the laser-marking machine, growing our product range and our worldwide distributor network. We see our future in this region, keeping our headquarters at Pocklington and recruiting local people whenever possible. It has been a privilege to welcome Sir Greg to look round our operation and meet some of our staff. We all appreciate the time he has spent at Detectamet.”