Anti-piracy firm ARX Maritime cheers overseas growth

Anti-piracy equipment developer ARX Maritime has unveiled a four-fold rise in revenues after enjoying rapid international growth.

ARX Maritime co-founder and chief operating officer Steve Regis. Picture: McAteer Photograph

Sales at the Edinburgh-based firm, which develops self-install anti-piracy barriers to protect seafaring vessels, have risen by 300 per cent year-on-year since the business was formed in 2016.

It has since expanded to supply risk prevention products to clients in more than 65 countries and now employs 12 staff at its base in the Scottish capital.

Ex-Royal Marine Steve Regis founded ARX with business partner Josh Hutchinson after spotting a gap in the market for affordable, self-install products suitable for vessels of any size.

He said: “Shipping companies spend around half a billion dollars each year on anti-piracy security equipment, and many smaller vessels simply can’t keep up with the cost.

“Instead, they tend to use barbed wire, which rusts and can be easily cut. ARX was set up to provide shipping companies with a cost-effective and easy to install anti-piracy solution, to ensure all ships are suitably and safely equipped for hostile waters.”

Regis is also actively involved in Royal Bank of Scotland’s Entrepreneur Accelerator programme, which provides mentorship to help early stage businesses expand.

He added: “The business has grown much quicker than anticipated. Scotland has one of the best entrepreneurial ecosystems in Europe, and we’ve found at the heart of the start-up network is a will to help each other out.”