Napton inventor in running for international award

Steve Lindsey, 45, is the co-founder and CEO of Midlands Firm Lontra which licenses intellectual property (IP) to technical and commercial partners.

Its flagship innovation is Blade Compressor®, a patent protected compact, double acting rotary air compressor which could revolutionise everything from coffee machines to the industrial compressors on which most factories run and automotive superchargers in a market worth more than £50 billion.

For this, Mr Lindsey is among the inventors who could win the 2017 European Inventor of the Year Award - which is one of the categories in the European Patent Office (EPO) Awards - for which a ceremony is taking place in Venice on June 15.

Mr Lindsey said: “I’m very excited and honoured to be nominated as European Inventor of the Year in the EPO Awards.

“Beyond the initial invention, this is testament to the hard work of everyone at Lontra and the help we’ve obtained over the years from a broad range of supporters across the UK and further afield.

“Since starting the business in 2004 with a small team and big ideas, we’re now challenging convention in a market that hasn’t seen true innovation in over 80 years.

“I can’t think of anywhere better to continue to do that from than right here in the heart of the UK, with the wonderfully skilled talent on offer, and the backing we’ve always been grateful to count on from the local community and our partners.”

In 2015 Mr Lindsey won the UK’s Manufacturing Entrepreneur of the Year award and was named by The Manufacturer magazine among the industry’s Top 100 role models.