Some 25 per cent of cable cleats exported by UK-based Ellis Patents Limited last year went to the GCC region, the company says.

Top markets there were Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman, according to Tony Conroy, Ellis’ export sales director. Ellis registered total sales of 7 million British pounds ($10.98 million) in 2014 and global exports accounted for more than 50 per cent of that.

“We supply and have fulfilled a large number of specifications across the region over the last few years. This number is growing all the time and as it grows the size and prestige of the projects can also be seen to grow,” said Conroy.

“During the last year alone, these installations have included securing power cables throughout the 75,000 sq m central utility complex (CUC) of the Shamiya Haram in Mecca and the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. In both instances, the primary element of the order was Emperor cable cleat.”

Emperor and Vulcan+ are specified in the Gulf with far greater regularity than any of Ellis’ other products, the preference being the same on a global scale, said Conroy. “They are both stainless steel cleats and one of the reasons for their success is their suitability for virtually any installation application.”

Ellis has a wide range of offerings, its other products including Pegasus, Alpha, Atlas, Flexi-Strap, Protect, Matrix, Vari-Cleat and many more. Ellis recently launched Pegasus – a modular cable hanging system that is stronger, lighter and, because it is has been designed to be made to order, even more flexible than any other solution currently available.

The Vulcan+ cable cleat, another Ellis best seller

Discussing focus and approach, Conroy said: “We intend to continue growing. We have new products that will be introduced to the market as the year goes on and we hope that these will have a positive impact on our performance.

“Our export approach is the same the world over. We seek to identify and recruit local distributors, whose knowledge of their market, its customs and peculiarities is far great than ours can ever be. In the GCC region we currently have four distributors covering four different countries of what is an extremely important part of the export market.”

Conroy recalls that when he started at Ellis in 2001, export sales did exist but only as a very small percentage of turnover. The company today has a dedicated team of four in Rillington, UK, a business development manager covering Latin America and a network of 30 local market distributors across the globe.

Ellis is the only leading manufacturer in the global electrical industry that focuses solely on cable cleats.

The company is counted as the world’s leader in cable cleats. According to IEC 61914:2009, a cable cleat is a device designed to provide securing of cables when installed at intervals along the length of cables.

The Shamiya Haram, Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where Ellis’ Emperor cleats have been installed throughout its central utility complex

“Ellis is the world leader in cable cleats. Our products are tried, tested and trusted around the globe and are suitable for all electrical power cable applications. They are primarily used in power distribution and production, offshore and transport infrastructure projects and can be found installed across the GCC region,” said Conroy.

Cleats are key to securing the safety of the cable system. Ellis prides itself in making the product as safe as possible.

“In order for any electrical installation to be deemed safe, cables need to be restrained in a manner that can withstand the forces they generate, including those generated during a short-circuit. And that, in a nutshell, is the job of the cleat. Take them away and the dangers posed by a short-circuit are plentiful; costly damage to cables and cable management systems, plus the risk to life posed by incorrectly installed live cables,” explained Conroy.

So how does Ellis ensure the product is on the right side of safety?

“Ellis makes this possible by putting all of their products through rigorous testing prior to them ever coming to market. The purpose of this is to ensure a particular product can safely claim to have a certain short circuit withstand when placed at specific intervals along the length of an installation.

“The issue with cleats being that it’s imperative that the installed cleat is correctly specified – as all an underspecified one will do in a short circuit scenario is add to the potentially lethal shrapnel.”