Orders flood in for Edinburgh firm's innovative smartwatch that warns of workplace injury

Reactec CEO Jacqui McLaughlin said the firm is seeing a 'measurable' increase in sales of its R-link watch and analytics programme. Picture: Jamie Simpson.

An Edinburgh-based firm focused on reducing workplace risk has swung to a profit and powered up revenue in 2023 despite higher costs, saying the year was its busiest ever, amid increased international activity including a growing US presence.

Reactec, whose products include the R-Link smartwatch, which monitors exposure to vibration to help prevent debilitating medical condition hand arm vibration syndrome (HAVS), also known as vibration white finger.

The firm last year saw its turnover increase by 40.9 per cent year on year to £5.58 million, and coming after it in July 2022 launched its third-generation wearable R-Link device that can monitor real-time exposure to HAVS and provide proximity warnings when the wearer enters the exclusion zone of a hazard, which, it says, combined with Reactec Analytics software, allows employers to refine controls and prevent future risk.

Furthermore, its order book grew by 50 per cent in 2023, while operating costs rose by more than a fifth to just shy of £4m. The company, which also offers products to monitor workplace noise and social distancing, posted a profit for the financial year of £66,000 compared to a loss of £360,000 in 2022.

Chief executive Jacqui McLaughlin said: “There’s no doubt that, as we make the detection of harmful vibrations and other work-related exposure more accessible, we are seeing a measurable increase in sales of our R-link watch and our analytics programme. [HAVS] is a particularly cruel and debilitating condition, and the detection, and early warning of harmful exposure to the vibration that can cause it, remain vital to protecting the country’s workforce.

“We have had a strong first half in 2024 and are continuing to see good sales growth. We are also encountering rising international interest, particularly from the US, which now accounts for 23 per cent of the traffic on our website. The growth in US business prompted us to launch a US data centre earlier this month to handle the analytics for our expanding customer base there.”

Reactec in October 2023 revealed that it had inked a deal with llinois-based Honsa Ergonomic Technologies to protect workers in the US from vibration-related musculoskeletal disorders.