A Kent firm has invested in new production facilities thanks to a sudden rise in exports - particularly to the Russian construction market.

Buckleys, a designer and manufacturer of quality test and inspection equipment based at Hythe, has seen exports rocket by 12 per cent since this time last year. It has now invested £25,000 in new facilities to increase production.

Their clients include marine, medical and oil production customers as well as the construction trade.

Managing director Paul Hoveman said that in a typical year around half of Buckleys’ products are exported, via a network of distributors, to customers in Russia, the USA, Australasia, Europe and the Middle East.

He said: "In 2008 there has been a sharp dip in UK sales caused by the economic downturn in the building sector but this has been more than offset by surging demand in overseas markets.

“At the moment we are seeing exports up by around 12 per cent compared to this time last year."

Russia, in particular, is a booming market with new facilities built for Russia’s oil-rich elite and a growing number of international tourists.

The investment at the Buckleys factory includes modernising its production and finishing facilities at Hythe. A new flow soldering machine has been installed to increase the scale of production.

Buckleys has been in business for 66 years and one of its products, the roof testing kit, has been used in major construction projects throughout the UK, from large retail outlets like Manchester’s Trafford Centre and Meadowhall in Sheffield to Arsenal FC’s Emirates Stadium in north London.

Contractors use the kits to check the integrity of new and existing single applied roof membranes. Pinholes and other defects are found by passing a high voltage over the roof surface using a brush or roller electrode.