Rugby firm directs its expertise to counter-terrorism

Rugby-based firm Lenoch Engineering have joined the battle against counter-terrorism by devising and constructing a groundbreaking anti-explosive device - with the support of Warwickshire County Council.

The remarkable piece of kit is a 1.5 metre cubed box into which suspect items can be placed and detonated in the knowledge that the impact will be absorbed by the casing and safely contained.

In these dangerous times, it is a great idea which was first worked on by academics in Sheffield before Lenoch took it over and advanced it to the point where it is now ready to go to market.

The firm, based in Somers Road, have long-enjoyed a high reputation for precision engineering, mainly in the automotive industry. But now an interesting summer awaits as they explore the potential of this fascinating new dimension to their business.

"It is something different for us and we think it's pretty exciting," said managing director John Rushbrooke. "We think we have spotted a bit of a niche.

"We first heard about it from one of our salesmen. It was being developed up in Sheffield where they got a grant of a million pounds from the university but then ran out of money.

"So we took it up. Academics can only take an idea so far of course!"

It is difficult for a layman to comprehend how a detonated bomb can be contained in such a tiny space. So how does it work?

"Basically, the box has two casings," said John. "When the explosive goes off, the inner-casing turns into a ball and soaks up the blast and all the heat before it reaches the outer-casing which is made up thick square tiles threaded through with copper wire.

"So if a suspect package is discovered, at an airport, railway station or a major sports event for example, it can be dealt with in absolute safety.

"We are pretty excited by it. Now the next step is to get it out into the market-place which is what we'll be doing this summer."

It is another great example of Warwickshire expertise and innovation leading the way - and the county council is delighted to have had a significant input to it.

After receiving initial advice from the Coventry & Warwickshire Growth Hub, Lenoch received a small business grant of £35,000 (with match funding of £131,738 from the firm) from the council towards the manufacture and marketing of the device.

"The grant was a huge help to us said Mr Rushbrooke. "We used it to construct a containment building and also a CNC machine to help with the manufacture of the product.

"The funding will also go towards marketing which is the next step and overall the grant enabled us to move the project forward a lot more quickly than we otherwise could have."

* Warwickshire County Council has so far awarded grant £437,746 to 21 firms following the announcement in October 2015 of £1 million available to small businesses over three years.

Grants, worth £5,000 to £35,000, have been awarded to a spread of small businesses for capital assets such as buildings, plant, machinery and equipment.

For more information and to check the eligibility of a project please visit: http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/businessgrants or contact Warwickshire County Council’s Economy and Skills Group on Tel: 01926 412709.