About Us

Alert Technology Ltd

Alert Technology Ltd commenced trading in January 2017 following the receipt of private equity investment in December 2016 when it was officially ‘spun out’ of The Select Group of Companies Ltd.

The Team at Alert are proudly committed to providing safe air for the working environment. It is a passionate belief at the company that no-one’s health should be put at risk of inhaling airborne pollutants whilst at work.

After many years of academic and commercial research and product development the ALERT range of real-time airborne asbestos warning devices was successfully developed with the intention of providing a first line of defence for the trades to help reduce the risk of prolonged exposure to airborne asbestos when building materials containing asbestos were unintentionally or unknowingly damaged during demolition, remediation, repair or maintenance.

Portable and easy to use, the ALERT has been designed to provide an early warning when asbestos containing materials have been actively disturbed releasing fibres into the air. This life saving equipment will allow the appropriate corrective safety precautions to be undertaken without delay with the intention of reducing risk of prolonged exposure and providing a vital first line of defence for people both working and living in environments containing asbestos.

A second model is planned for future release called the ‘Asbestos ALERT PRO 2000’ which will include wireless communication and GPS connected to a cloud-based data platform. Additional future models have already been identified for further development and the scope for industry specific models is broad.

The idea for ALERT was born at Select reflecting a real-world problem faced by the trades who are Select’s core customer base. The Select Group founded by Alan Archer in 1988 to supply the construction merchant sector with innovative, unique products continues to support and provide valuable contacts and connections with Alert as well as sharing a number of Company Directors but as ALERT was so unique, technical and focused entirely on airborne asbestos the decision was made to spin Alert out of Select.

In October 2020 the decision was made to expand the company’s product offering in light of the current challenges’ companies and organizations from around the world are facing in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Founder and CEO of Alert, Alan Archer negotiated an exclusive distribution agreement for the UK and Ireland of the PureAir R150 with its German manufacturer, Deconta GmbH. Deconta, long time connection of Alert, are a leading global supplier of technologies and equipment for the safe removal and handling of air pollutants, asbestos, dusts and decontamination equipment.

The new PureAir R150 is a powerful, commercial air purification unit that utilizes up to 5 stages of filtration including HEPA14 and UVC light sterilization technology that filters and neutralises many hazardous airborne aerosols including: viruses (inc. COVID-19), bacteria, mould, dust, pollen, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and optional carbon filters to eliminate odours.

“Coming from a construction industry background and having lost friends and former colleagues to asbestos-related diseases it is our aim, and my personal ambition, to help improve safe living and working environments by reducing the risk of unnecessary asbestos exposure with ALERT and ultimately help to save lives.” – Alan Archer, MD, Alert Technology Ltd

1997 - The Early Asbestos Detection Research

Research into light scattering of airborne particles pioneered by University of Hertfordshire in the late-1990's showed that when a particle is illuminated with a beam of light, it will scatter the light in a pattern dependent on the particle's size, shape, and structure. This scatter structure 'fingerprint' can be used to identify the particle shape, allowing fibres to be detected in the presence of other non-fibrous particles. However, to discriminate between harmful asbestos fibres and other non-asbestos fibres required another step. The UH researchers developed this step by exploiting the unique magnetic properties of asbestos which cause it to be rotated in a magnetic field. They were able to measure this rotation in laboratory tests - the first step to a real-time warning device product. Despite this success, the cost of implementing the technology and overcoming the remaining technical challenges was, at that time, too high to make it commercially viable. So it sat on a shelf.

2008 - From Concept to Creation

In 2008, Select Group initiated the project with the aim of creating a cost-effective, portable real-time airborne asbestos alert that would help save lives globally. They led the creation of a consortium of partners representing trade associations, end-user SME's and research organisations and, in 2009, the ALERT Project Consortium's bid was submitted to the European Commission under the FP7 "Research for SME's" call. The bid was ranked 9th out of 3,500 entries and was awarded €1.8 million for the 3-year research project.

2012 - Alert an Asbestos Detector That Could Save Lives

In an interview, Alan Archer, MD of Select Group stated: 'Our challenge was to work with the University of Hertfordshire to turn their research into a practical and affordable instrument capable of alerting people (tradesmen initially) to the potential presence of this lethal airborne carcinogen.'

2013 - The UH, continues to lead the on-going R&D for the ALERT project

The University of Hertfordshire, inventors of the asbestos detection technology, continues to lead the on-going R&D for the ALERT project, which is now run by the ALERT Consortium and funded under FP7 as a Research for SMEs 'Proof of Principal' project. In 2013 the ALERT FP7 project came to a successful conclusion. Now Select and selected partners including the University of Hertfordshire are developing the working prototypres into pre-production units for further robust field testing before commencing manufacture. R&D continues on industry-specific ALERT devices and refinements to the range.

2017 - Raise Equity Investment

Alert Technology Ltd, a South Devon based business, celebrated the successful first close in their first ever investment round of c.£700,000 at the end of 2016 and successfully topped up the investment round to £1 on SyndicateRoom.com.

2018 - Receive one of first Innovation Loan from Innovate UK

Alert were one of the first companies to be awarded one of the brand new innovation loans from Innovate UK. The new programme from the UK’s Innovation agency was aimed at providing new low-interest financial support specifically designed to help scale up some of the country’s most innovative companies. ATL were one of just 13 pioneering small businesses to benefit from a total of £8m loaned out in this first round of Innovate UK’s recently launched £50m pilot programme.

2019 - Update Electronics & Firmware ALERT PRO 1000

With the innovation loan funds from Innovate UK, Alert engaged with long term academic partners at the University of Hertfordshire and industry partners at Trolex Ltd to totally redesign and update ALERT’s electronics and supporting firmware and software based on learnings from our field trials in readiness for production and product launch.

2019 - Contamination Expo Asbestos Product Winners

Asbestos ALERT PRO 1000 soft launched at the annual Contamination Expo 2019 held at NEC Birmingham. We were thrilled when the PRO 1000, an industry-changing device, received the recognition it deserves by winning the show’s Asbestos Award as chosen by industry experts. Companies travelled from as far as Australia, America, Japan and the EU to visit Alert, generating many hot leads from companies keen to become early adopters of our Asbestos ALERT warning device. https://www.business-live.co.uk/enterprise/devon-company-creates-life-saving-17101836

2020 - Receive Innovate Continuity Grant

Alert became one of a number of successful recipients of Innovate UK's Continuity Grants. Offered to provide vital support to early-stage tech companies like Alert, impacted by COVID-19 related delays but not eligible for the CBILS scheme. Big thanks to Innovate UK for their continued support helping innovative companies like us to keep on creating life-saving products for the global market place!

2020 - Expand Team – New NED Ashley Unitt

We are absolutely delighted to welcome Ashley Unitt to our team, cloud technology pioneer, joins Alert as an investor, NED and part-time CTO. Ashley co-founded and grew Software as a Service market leader, NewVoiceMedia, across two decades in the telecommunications sector that sold in 2018 for $350m. Ashley’s vast technical and commercial experience will provide strategic guidance to both the Board and our operations team ensuring the successful and timely development and implementation of our new SaaS business channel. Ashley is already integral part of our technical team and heavily involved in future planning.

2020 - Expand Team – New Software Developer Tony Bolton

We are absolutely delighted to welcome Tony Bolton to our team, to help build the new data platform for the PRO 2000 under his guidance. Tony brings 30 years’ experience in the IT sector and a unique mix of technical and interpersonal skills to the role. As both an employee and a business owner, he has managed projects ranging from leading-edge security architecture through to high-performance software development, web interface development, production of training materials and security consultancy and we are lucky to have him join our team.

2020 - Launch of PureAir R150 Professional Air Purifier

As part of Alert’s ongoing commitment to safe air and safe working environments, we are thrilled to add the PureAir R150 to our range of safe air devices. Alan Archer, CEO of Alert Technology Ltd says, “As the UK reaches ~50,000 COVID-19 attributed deaths, and approaches the winter flu season, for businesses trying to safely encourage the return of their employees and customers it has never been more important to provide a clean and safe environment to live, work, and breathe. There is no better way to demonstrate commitment to the health and safety in the current COVID world in which we live, than the strategic deployment around commercial premises of air cleaning purifiers like the Alert PureAir R150 unit.

The Team

Alert has key partnerships already in place encompassing technology, engineering, product development, financing, sales and distribution; all underpinned by the experience and network of The Select Group.