| The UK security sector is to be promoted around the world as the 'hallmark of excellence' |
Optex Europe, leaders in detection technology, has welcomed the strategy from UK Trade & Investment to help British security companies win business abroad.
The UK security sector is to be promoted around the world as the 'hallmark of excellence.' More than 335,000 people are employed in 18,000 companies and exports last year were valued at £1.36 billion, an increase of over 14 percent as compared to the previous year.
The security sector includes homeland security, counter-terrorism, police, fire, and emergency services, alongside commercial security and safety. It also includes the public and private sector.
The strategy was launched with His Royal Highness, Prince Michael of Kent, patron of the British Security Industry Association's Export Council at the Cabinet War Rooms in Central London, in front of an audience of 150 business people from the sector.
The strategy includes branding and marketing tools for companies, particularly for SMEs, that will help them stand out across the world, as Ian Henderson, Export Director for Optex Europe, comments: "For many years the UK security industry has been at the forefront of developments in technology and application. This move is recognition of that and proves that our experience and knowledge is very well respected and should help to strengthen our global position."
The UK's experience of countering terrorism and organised crime has led to an industry that is among the most technologically advanced in the world with particular skills in biometrics, CBRN detection, CCTV and transport security.
Richard Paniguian, head of UK Trade & Investment Defence and Security Organisation, said: "We have had to react to events, respond to impending adversity and overcome imposing threats. We deliver the products, technologies and systems that ensure the security of companies, markets, countries and people throughout the world."