FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — A British firm that has developed an energy-saving device for air conditioning and refrigeration equipment won a competition for a space in eIncubator LLC’s headquarters here in order to enter the United States market.

The company, AB Technology Cambridge Ltd. of Cambridge, England, beat out seven other entrants in the “Strongest Link” Business Plan competition for technology companies organized by the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) and eIncubator.

AB Technology’s Gaslok™ product is an electronic sensor designed to detect small levels of gas charge depletion in air conditioning and refrigeration systems, to help minimize expensive and wasteful losses. The company twice received the Smart Award and financial assistance from the British Department of Trade and Industry. The University of Cambridge has also assisted the company.

Benefits that the firm will receive include:

Space in the incubator for 12 months;

Management and advisory assistance, such as financial, accounting, legal, marketing, and public relations services; and

Assistance in finding strategic partners, sources of capital, as well as permanent office space. David Peall, founder and chairman of AB Technology, stated, “The U.S. is the Holy Grail of our industry with 40 percent of the market. This is a godsend. It would have been at least another five years before we ventured into the U.S.”

The FCEDA and eIncubator launched the competition in March to find a UK technology company that wanted to expand into the U.S. market. An advisory panel of UK business people evaluated the entrants, and eIncubator picked the winning company.

“We wanted an entrant whose technology and vision would represent the best of what British business has to offer, and AB Technology fits that description as the strongest link,” said Gerald L. Gordon, Ph.D., president and ceo of the FCEDA.

“Gaslok provides an early warning that is at least 15 times earlier than anything comparable on the global market,” Peall proclaimed. “The benefits for the small shopkeeper with a single refrigeration unit, to hotels, to large supermarket chains could be huge. Environmental considerations are significant as well.”

For more information on eIncubator, visit www.eincubator.net. For more information on the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, visit www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org.

Publication date: 10/02/2001