A BARRY company which created the world’s first electronic breathalyser, has secured a major export deal.

Lion Laboratories, based in Ty Verlon Industrial Estate in Barry, is set to supply 250 portable infrared breathalysing instruments for use by Finland’s police, border guard and prison services.

Along with providing the devices, the agreement with Finnish Government will also see the company assist with their rollout and deliver full technical training to the country’s law enforcement teams.

The Welsh Government's economy minister Vaughan Gething visited the company’s Barry HQ to congratulate the company on its success and urged more Welsh firms to consider exporting.

The deal with Finland is the latest in a string of international contract wins for Lion Labs, which already exports to more than 70 counties and has products used by police forces all over the world.

The announcement comes as Lion Laboratories has also appointed new distributors in France, Spain, and Austria over the last 12 months as part of plans to grow its presence in Europe.

International sales currently account for 70 per cent of Lion Laboratories’ trade and its drive on securing new overseas contracts is part of wider plans to grow its export business back to pre-pandemic levels of 85 per cent.

The company's head of sales Martin Slade said:“Exporting is extremely important to us, both in terms of our security and growth.

“It ensures that we are not purely reliant on one market and, by covering a wide range of countries, broadens our business opportunities and protects us in the case of any regional dips.

“At the same time, working with a spread of countries helps us to continually improve our products as they are developed to meet various international requirements, rather than being designed for a small number of specific markets.”

He added that Welsh Government has been “extremely supportive” in helping the company make key contacts overseas.

Mr Gething said: “I am really pleased the Welsh Government has been able to support Lion Labs to win this significant order with the Finnish Government.

"Exporting is great for business, and this is another great example of a Welsh company’s exporting success.

"Our Export Action Plan aims to support more companies across Wales to export their goods and services to new markets internationally and help to create more jobs here in Wales.”