THE launch of breakthrough products is helping a North-East industrial camera manufacturer to double turnover and create new jobs.

Employing 14 people at its Middlesbrough base, CorDEX Instruments has already secured global sales for its ToughPIX II SLR style camera, which can take high quality photographs in potentially hazardous industries including offshore, petrochemical and mining.

“Our products are used in some of the most demanding environments imaginable around the world and have to be reliable and extremely durable,” said Craig Bell, managing director.

“ToughPIX II has been in development for more than two years and has evolved dramatically from our first range of digital cameras. It is smaller and lighter, yet still maintains the functionality and industrial ruggedness required.”

He continued: “We needed to develop a charging station for the rechargeable battery pack and working with MAS consultant LDT Design we came up with a new docking station that would act as both the charging point and also the USB point for downloading images.”

CorDEX Instruments design, develop and manufacture a range of intrinsically safe and explosion proof inspecting and imaging devices, including thermal imaging cameras, digital cameras, ultrasonic testers, laser distance meters and infrared windows.

The company invests heavily in research and development at its Teesside headquarters and intends to bring several new products to market during 2014 and continue this development into 2015 as well as recruit more staff.

Jim Barr, an advisor at the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS), has been working with the company for more than three years.

“Unlocking innovation in a company is one of our key aims and I’m delighted that we’ve been able to fund a specialist to work with CorDEX to develop its next generation of products.

“Sometime the assistance can be the difference between a great idea falling at the final hurdle and it becoming a fantastic commercial reality. I’m glad to say on this occasion the ‘ToughPIX II’ falls firmly into the last category and is already generating considerable revenue for the firm.”

In addition to the digital camera, CorDEX Instruments has recently launched the world’s first intrinsically safe radiometric thermal imaging camera, which has been designed to withstand explosions.