Synthesys beats off giants to land deal

Whitby-based Synthesys has beaten some of the world's biggest defence companies to win a five-year, 4.3m contract with the Ministry of Defence.

Synthesys is providing a military communications testing service for frontline military aircraft and ships.

John Hartas, the managing director, said the company's information systems engineering service was also being used to ensure that ground attack aircraft hit the right targets.

He added: "There is less collateral damage and fewer civilian casualties. It also reduces the potential for friendly fire casualties."

Synthesys, which has been based in Whitby since 1991, helps to ensure there is clear communication across a battlefield.

Mr Hartas said: "If you build a communication system you have got to test it. Otherwise it's like crossing the road without looking and listening.

"That's the essential role that testing plays. All the military command systems aren't fixed, they are evolving and built to different standards. We test them to see if the communication system works." Robin Fox, the managing director of Northern Defence Industries (NDI), which helps small businesses to secure work in the defence sector, said: "There is an old story in which a general fighting on the front line sent the message back to his headquarters 'send reinforcements we're going to advance'.

"The message was passed from messenger to messenger and got changed slightly on each repetition.

"By the time it reached headquarters the message they received came out as 'send three and four pence we're going to a dance'.

"In combat zones, such as Waterloo, where there was multinational action, the communication system used to be based on a bloke on a horse with a good memory.

"He might have been shot or got lost on his way.

"In a sense, Synthesys is helping to translate that system into the modern day, but making it much more efficient."

Mr Hartas said that around 85 per cent of the company's orders were from the military. The company has defence sector contracts in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Australia.

The 2m turnover company has six staff in Whitby, who are all administrators and support workers, and 17 teleworkers – including some who are based in the US, Australia and Sweden.

The military are having to cut costs and Mr Hartas plans to diversify the company's client range. The long-term aim is to have just 50 per cent of the company's turnover linked to military contracts.

Mr Hartas added: "With the advent of the internet and high speed communications, more than ever the world depends upon effective communications.

"If we are using these communication systems to co-ordinate a large enterprise or a large organisation, such as the military, then they have to be used in a much more systematic and directed way."

Synthesys has devised Spirit, a process which manages complex communications systems. Mr Hartas believes Spirit could be used to link doctors' surgeries, hospitals, and even ambulances to deliver patient information more quickly.

The company spends 10 per cent of its turnover on research and development.

Synthesys hopes to create a small, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) by working with academics from Durham University, which could be ready for use next year.

Mr Hartas said the UAV could be used for surveillance, inspection and public safety work.

It could, for example, be used to inspect power lines, or help to find people lost on mountains or trapped by the tide.

The UAV could also help the police by photographing the scene of road traffic accidents from the air.

A world leader in its field

Whitby-based Synthesys provides technical information system engineering services to governments and industry.

It is a world leader in the field of military tactical data links, and the company's staff are chosen for their skills in the fields of systems engineering and design, or their hands-on knowledge of military operational systems.

John Hartas, the company's managing director, is from a well-known Whitby family.

His father, Robert Godfrey Hartas, ran a tailoring business in the town.