The British-made Trolex Air XS Silica Monitor, which measures the volume of deadly respirable crystalline silica in the air in real time, has won another award.
The latest recognition is a Gold Award for Best Product Development at the UK Business Awards, presented at an online ceremony on 7 July.
Previously, the Air XS from Trolex, based in Stockport, Manchester, was Highly Commended by the British Safety Industry Federation in the BSiF Awards in April and gained the ‘Best of Technology 2022’ Award at StonExpo / Marmomac in America in February. SiG (Stone Industry Group), which is selling Air XS to the stone industry in the UK and America, had made a feature of it on its stand at the American exhibition.
It is expected to be particularly attractive to worktop fabricators, who process high crystalline silica content materials such as engineered quartz and natural granites and quartzites, as well as to those working onsite sawing concrete and sandstone paving, both of which produce high levels of RCS.
There is a legal limit of exposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) over an eight-hour period of 0.1mm/m3 of air, but until now it has been difficult to measure the level of RCS without calling in expensive experts. Air XS makes it possible to monitor the air continually.
The unit that does the measuring is also portable, so can be moved around a factory or site to test the air in different locations. Most fabricators would be surprised how much of their factory exceeds the legal exposure limit, even when all processing is carried out wet.
Granite House in Preston, Lancashire, has become the first worktop fabricator to buy an Air XS (they cost about £10,000 each) from SiG. Granite House, which is a member of the Worktop Fabricators Federation (WFF) and fully supports its professional approach to stone fabrication, is always pushing to have the best environment for its staff, as demonstrated by its recent achievement of the quality management standard ISO 9001. It believes RCS is an issue waiting to bite worktop fabricators through fines and claims for compensation.
The UK Business Awards are judged by a panel of independent experts from across industry and Trolex faced stiff competition from entrants that included world leading companies in the category for innovative products.
Announcing the Gold Award, Chair of Judges Christina Melling said: “Trolex have spent nearly a decade perfecting the Air XS Silica Monitor, an incredible device that will save lives around the world by detecting silica so that silica inhalation and silicosis can be prevented.”
Steve Holland, Managing Director of Trolex, said in his acceptance speech: “We are delighted to have received this Gold Award in recognition of our efforts to develop an innovative product that has the potential to save lives. The competition was fierce, and we are proud to have come first among a strong field of candidates.”
“Our Gold Award reflects the confidence of the judges in the Air XS Silica Monitor as a product, and the opportunity for the growth and development of our business going forward.”
