CABLE cleats manufactured in Rillington are being installed in National Grid’s London Power Tunnels project following a record breaking order.

The Centaur cable saddles, which are being used to secure high voltage cables throughout 32km of tunnels under London, were specified in 2012 in a record £1.5 million order for manufacturer Ellis.

Ellis secured the specification from S?dkabel, the German manufacturers of the cables being installed in the National Grid tunnels.

Richard Shaw, managing director of Ellis, said: "At the time we designed Centaur neither the British nor European Standards took into account cleats on high voltage cables of this size.

“This meant those specifying for such jobs were in the hands of the manufacturers, who in most cases simply provided warranties for their products.

“The problem with this was that none of the products available had been short circuit tested. As such there was no proof the saddle cleats being used would withstand the most testing elements of the job they’d been specified for.”

Before launch, Ellis put its new product through rigorous testing procedures.

Using cable manufactured in Sweden, the company shipped the Centaur cable saddles and cable to the Netherlands where they were tested to peak scenarios.

Mr Shaw said: "We invested well over £100,000 in designing, developing, testing and bringing Centaur to market.

"At the time this was the largest amount we’d ever invested in one new product, but we did so with confidence that it had the potential to solve a major safety issue and fill a gap in a growing market sector – a confidence that was quickly proven to be well-placed.”