Cable seal manufacturer Roxtec UK is targeting the rapidly expanding data centre and life sciences market after appointing a new sales manager.

Andy Dyson brings extensive knowledge of the cable sealing industry from two previous roles combined with strong commercial, engineering and technical knowledge.

He will be looking to build on momentum with Roxtec sales growing by 107pc across the European data centre market in the last 12 months.

“It’s an exciting time to join the Roxtec team operating in the data centre and life sciences market,” he said.

“One of Roxtec’s strongest selling points is the fact that it has global giants among its customers. We are also witnessing a growing trend where smaller companies are teaming up with larger ones and take capacity in the large data centres that major corporations set up.

“Data Centre Pricing (DCP) has forecast that in the UK alone companies will invest an estimated 40,000sqm of new data centre space per year over the next few years.

“It’s a valuable market with people now replacing their mobile handsets every 12 to 24 months with lots of data linked to them stored in the cloud. The fast expanding internet of things is another strong driver for data centre business.”

Roxtec’s cable seals protect people and assets from multiple hazards including fire, flooding, the risk of explosion and electromagnetic disturbances. Key benefits include durability, reliability and flexibility. It first entered the marketplace in 1990 and is now active in more than 80 markets worldwide.

The British subsidiary of the £173million Swedish group recently reported a record financial year with turnover surpassing £6million for the first time.

Dyson said a large data centre often represents an investment of about £20million in addition to which comes the value of the data.

“The large computers in these facilities generate heat, but it is important that the temperature remains constant,” he said.

“This saves energy for the operator and ensures smooth running of the computers. Roxtec’s seals bring a variety of benefits. They are water, air and gas tight, which means that they help keep temperatures at constant levels.

“Fires at data centres are rare events, but as Roxtec’s cable seals can withstand a fire for up to two hours, they protect the physical facilities and the data stored at the centres by preventing the fire from spreading from one part of the facility to another through cabling.”