GROWING mobile technology business Varlink brought hundreds of its customers to York last month to continue expanding its international networks.

Varlink, which specialises in supplying the latest mobile technology equipment from manufacturers to resellers, attracted manufacturers from all over the world to its annual technology exhibition and conference.

Mike Pullon, managing director of Varlink, said the exhibition which he started just months after he set up the company in 2005, will continue because it is too important to them, especially as many of the bigger exhibitions in the industry have been cancelled in light of the current economic climate.

Varlink, based at Osbaldwick Business Park, achieved £9 million-turnover last year, he said, a 30 per cent increase on the previous 12 months and the business is currently recruiting to increase its staff from 22 to 25.

Mike previously formed Hull's ABC Technology Distribution, building it into a £14 million-turnover business before selling to a US corporation.

He said: “The technology we sell develops really quickly. Ten years ago we would have expected manufacturers to introduce one major product every year, but now we'd expect two to three major products a year.”

He said it enables manufacturers to explain the nuances of their products, ensures software developers are developing software for the latest hardware, and enables resellers to plan for current and future releases.

Mike said industrial mobile devices, such as PDAs and smart phones, are becoming more robust and function-rich. “It’s a process of evolution, rather than revolution. You’re getting more features in a product and more products for your pound.”

The latest trend, Mike said, is voice technology.

Manufacturers are using a synthesised voice bank to give instructions to a worker, for applications such as picking stock in a warehouse, and the worker will then input, by voice, what they have done.

The exhibition, which was held last month at the York Marriott hotel, with a celebration dinner at the National Railway Museum, was this year attended by more than 150 companies, including manufacturers from Italy, Taiwan, the United States, Japan, China, Canada, Spain and Holland.