SPECIALIST test and inspection equipment manufacturer Buckleys (UVRAL) celebrates 60 years in business this year.

The firm, based in Beta Works Range Road, Hythe, can trace its origins to 1942 when William Augustus Hoveman, grandfather of Paul Hoveman, the present managing director, bought the company for his son Derek.

It was then based in Putney, London, and made ultra violet ray arc lamps for use in photographic production. On a visit to Hythe in the 1970s, the Hoveman family noticed a new industrial estate emerging and, as operating costs were rising dramatically in London, they decided to buy a plot of land and build a factory.

Since 1962 the company has specialised in the design and production of test and inspection equipment for assessing the quality of non-conductive coatings and linings. The firm's products are used in the pipeline, plastics, rubber, petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries. Its PHD pinhole/holiday detectors have been used extensively to test bridge decks and flat roof membranes.

Paul Hoveman joined the company in 1977 and has continued the process of product development and innovation. This includes the recent launch of a range of equipment used for monitoring corrosion on underwater structures.

Mr Hoveman has also set up a distributor network that promotes global sales. Exports now account for 45 per cent of turnover. Buckleys is a past finalist in the Kent Exporter of the Year awards.