This year, the accolade for the fastest growing Northeast UK business goes to Alexander Battery Technologies, which also takes the prize in the large business category.  The award – sponsored by top UK law firm Ward Hadaway, which is now in its 22nd year – highlights high-growth, privately-owned companies, and is based on financial data from the last three years of trading.

“When it comes to our success, it’s been our relationships – and how we’ve taken care of them – that’s given us that extra dimension,” said Mark Rutherford, Managing Director of Alexander Technologies. “Whether it’s with our people, our customers, supply chain partners or investors, we’ve nurtured and nourished these relationships and followed a partnership-centric approach, which has supported our growth.”

Growth is certainly what Alexander Technologies has mastered. In the last three years, bolstered by investment from a £9.2m management buyout as well as grant support from County Durham Growth Fund, revenue has increased by 400%. The business has built a state-of-the art 58,000ft² manufacturing facility and, in turn, production capacity has increased by over 350%. Since 2018, Alexander Technologies has boosted its export of manufactured products to the US by 78%, an increase of 18% in just 12 months.

Underpinning this outstanding success is a relentless focus on quality. Alexander Battery Technologies does not enter the ‘race to the bottom’ and compete only on price.  Instead, they drive value across the whole value chain to provide a premium product capable of performance demanded in critical applications.  This is evidenced by enviable ratings from large OEM customers in the health and safety and medical sectors.

Alexander Battery Technologies has a history reaching back over 40 years as a designer and manufacturer of customised battery packs and charging solutions.

Beginning as Alexander Incorporated in the US, the company amalgamated into Alexander Manufacturing (UK) in the mid-1980s and have been supporting a global customer base with safety critical solutions for a variety of applications, including health and safety, medical equipment, test and measurement, military, and fire and police, from the UK ever since.

“Our customers demand the highest quality to ensure they maintain their reputational integrity,” says John Bennion, Director of Quality at Alexander Battery Technologies. “We deliver this by building quality into every element of our process. From strategic direction, down to lean six sigma training at operational level.”