Our Round Up Of 2023

2023 has been an incredible year for Brimstone UXO.

As the countdown to 2024 begins, we wanted to take a look at some of our company achievements and milestones for this year!

Another record-breaking year for Brimstone UXO

2023 has kept the Brimstone team busy, with our engineers collectively working over 46,000 hours! That’s the equivalent of more than 1,916 days. We’ve been delighted to see an increase in order volume of 120%, with 105 new clients booking our services this year.

In terms of the services we provide, we’ve discovered over 25,000 items of UXO, most of which have been found and cleared as part of our work at RAF Cowden. Our teams have completed more than 500 risk assessments, over 14,000 intrusive probes and surveyed over 750 hectares with our UAV.

We are proud to have achieved a 9/10 score for employee satisfaction, and have invested £30,000 in CPD for our teams, ensuring they are keeping their expertise and knowledge up to date.

BBC Radio Humberside visit to RAF Cowden

In March, BBC Radio Humberside visited the Brimstone team at RAF Cowden to discuss the ongoing work we’re doing to clear UXO on the East Yorkshire Coast. Site Manager, Paul Duckworth MBE, was interviewed for the Kofi Smiles’ morning show, highlighting why we have a permanent presence at Mappleton Beach and why the UXO we find is dangerous.

The visit from BBC Radio Humberside was the perfect opportunity to showcase the excellent work our team is doing and remind the public that, despite common misconceptions, practice bombs can be incredibly dangerous!

Expanding the Brimstone team

We’ve welcomed lots of new faces to the business this year, enriching our pool of UXO engineers, welcoming a new Operations Manager, developing our Marketing capabilities, and expanding our Research and Technical teams!

Our team’s dedication and hard work have been integral to our success over the years, and we look forward to expanding our teams even further in 2024.

A monumental UXO survey in Lithuania

2023 saw Brimstone win a highly competitive tender for a 1,300-hectare UXO survey in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Brimstone’s success during the tender process for this project highlights the stellar reputation we have earned, not just in the UK but globally, as a leading UXO contractor.

So far, we have surveyed over 400 hectares using our state-of-the-art UAV. Our team are looking forward to deploying back to Lithuania in the new year to continue this work.

Bringing new services to market

In our continuous pursuit of serving our clients better, we introduced new services in 2023. We expanded our training capabilities to include IMAS level 1 and 2 training courses. This exciting development followed the UK governmental assurance we received in 2021 for our service delivery and built on our vision for a world safe from the risks of unexploded ordnance contamination. Our first courses are set to commence next year, so watch this space.

Our Expedited Detailed Risk Assessment (EDRA) service launched in July, providing clients with a quicker, easier way to understand the UXO risks on their site. The EDRA is an alternative to our Detailed Risk Assessments. It is still considered a stage 2 UXO risk assessment, but it has a faster turnaround time and contains more concise information which makes it easier and quicker to understand. Since its inception, numerous clients have already benefited from this streamlined service.

Demonstrating our drone surveying capabilities in Ukraine

In June, our team had the privilege of visiting Ukraine at the invitation of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to demonstrate our drone surveying capabilities.

Ukraine has been affected by landmines and explosive remnants of war for decades. This issue has been severely exacerbated due to the ongoing war, posing a serious risk to the safety and livelihoods of the population, especially in rural areas. A quick and effective solution is needed, which is why companies like Brimstone were asked to demonstrate systems for improved land release efficiency. We were incredibly proud to be involved in this work, and to be able to showcase our UAV to the UNDP.

Supporting our local community and charities close to our heart

Each year we ensure we are doing our part to support our local area and charities close to our heart, and 2023 was no exception. We continued our support for Sapper Rugby as their primary sponsor, proudly sponsored the Watlington U14 girls’ football team, and made donations to the Felix Fund. Our dedication to improving our local environment for generations to come drives us to explore new ways to make a difference.

Celebrating business achievements

This year Brimstone was delighted to win two prestigious business awards!

On 17th November, we were awarded ‘SME of the Year’ at the Medway Business Awards. Less than a week later we attended the Kent Invicta Chamber Business Awards, where we walked away as ‘Business of the Year’!

These awards celebrate the remarkable accomplishments of individuals and businesses in our local community, and it has been an honour to be recognised alongside other exceptional businesses. Winning both awards is a real testament to the hard work, dedication, and innovation of our amazing team, and we couldn’t have done it without the support of our clients, partners, and local community.

Networking, networking, and more networking!

Throughout 2023, the Brimstone team actively participated in a wide array of events, from exhibiting at the AGS Conference and Kent Construction Expo to attending the Army EOD and Search Association Annual Reception on HMS Belfast and DSEI in London. These events provided invaluable opportunities to connect with clients, suppliers, stakeholders, competitors, and friends.

Supporting international campaigns

Our team have supported a wide range of national and international campaigns this year that are important to our work. These included International Women in Engineering Day (INWED), Armed Forces Day, National Engineering Day, Mental Health Week Awareness Week, International Mine Awareness Day and British Science Week.

These causes resonate deeply with our mission and remain close to our hearts, ensuring our enduring support year after year.

2023: A year to remember

2023 has been a busy, exciting and record-breaking year for Brimstone UXO, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Our teams will shortly be having a well-earned break, with our offices closing for the holidays from 17:00 on Friday 22nd December 2023, reopening on Tuesday 2nd January 2024. In case of emergencies during this time, please call 020 7117 2492 and select option 2 for Head Office.

If you require UXO support for your projects in the new year, don’t wait until the last minute to get booked in. Brimstone UXO has great availability in January, so get it buttoned off before you sign off for Christmas. Get in touch with our commercial team today to get booked in.

As always, you can keep up to date with Brimstone by following us on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter), LinkedIn and YouTube.