A Hove company has been named as the best export business in the south east.
Phase 5 Technology (P5T), of Church Road, Hove, is now vying for votes to win government support worth £30,000 in the national final of the Best Exporter in the UK competition.
P5T managing director Lawrence Eke said: “We’re thrilled to have been selected as a regional winner in the Great Faces of British Business competition.
“There’s a wealth of innovative small and medium-sized businesses out there and it’s great to be recognised as one of them by the competition.
“We are a small company with a fantastic product, operating in a sector dominated by huge multinationals.
“It would mean everything for us to win the national award and so please show your support by voting for us on www.greatbusiness.gov.uk/competition.”
Phase 5 Technology is the only company in Britain to supply self-service passenger processing units to the aviation sector. These are known as the Sonic Bag Drop.
P5T developed the product using intelligent software, cloud hosting and modern components to make passenger processing in airports faster and smoother.
Phase 5 also brought in chip and PIN payments for excess baggage and self-adhesive tags at British airports.
The company has been working with UKTI (UK Trade and Investment), the government agency that helps British exporters, to reach new markets in Europe. It is now also receiving inquiries from North America and the Pacific region.
The Sonic Bag Drop is Europe’s leading self-service bag drop by installed bases. It is operating at 13 airports in Britain and Ireland, with installations booked into three more European airports this month.
Sonic processes 40,000 bags a week for CityJet, easyJet, Flybe and Ryanair, making passenger journeys quicker and easier through the airport terminal.
The winners of the national final will be decided by judges and a public vote. Voting closes on Monday 23 February and the winner will be announced on Tuesday 3 March.
