7 minute read
business matters
Delivering vacuum technology across the world from St Leonards-on-Sea
The St Leonards based Kurt J. Lesker Company® is a leading global manufacturer and distributor of high-quality vacuum technology for multiple industries, including the semiconductor market, aerospace, R&D, universities, electronics production, optical coating and the solar panel research/production market. From small beginnings in 1954 they have become an internationally successful business and are operating world-class manufacturing and logistics facilities from six global offices, providing customers with quick access to high-quality vacuum products and systems.
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Established in Pittsburgh USA in 1954
The Kurt J. Lesker Company® was established in 1954 in the USA by Kurt J. Lesker II, and over the years the company grew into a global business serving customers globally with its own local sales force and representatives.
Opening of EMEIA Headquarters in Hastings
The UK business started small, initially operating from Tim’s house and using his garage as a warehouse. As the business grew, the company moved into several facilities in and around Hastings.
A further chapter in the success story of KJLC was the opening of their new facility on the Churchfields Industrial Estate in St Leonards-on-Sea. The new facility includes a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant, producing high-tech vacuum components used all over the world in semiconductor manufacturing, aerospace, renewable energy and many other leading-edge technologies.
The Kurt J. Lesker Company is committed to the Hastings area because of the area’s long history of supporting the vacuum industry, the local knowledge base and the surrounding support network of suppliers.
From their new headquarters in St Leonards, they are serving their customers across the UK, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. To support their EU customers even better they opened a German sister company in March 2022.
Supporting customers during the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit
The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted everyone and every business. The Kurt J. Lesker Company® adapted well to working from home for its office staff and kept its manufacturing facilities open to serve the increasing demand of its customers.
The higher demand from its technology customers meant that they navigated through the Covid-19 pandemic without any redundancies and even employed new people as the business continued to grow.
Simon Mansbridge, EMEIA Managing Director and Vice President for Global Product Distribution commented: “The Covid-19 pandemic gave us challenges but I’m proud about how our employees adapted quickly to the new situation and how smoothly we continued to serve our customers during our remote working phase.”
Brexit was a challenging period for the Kurt J. Lesker Company but they managed to navigate well through it. They even successfully opened a daughter company in Germany which is helping to support their European customers.
Company values are key to the success
The Kurt J. Lesker Company has strong company principles which are outlined in their SPIRIT values of sustainability, passion, integrity, respect, innovation and teamwork. “Our SPIRIT values are guiding all of us in our daily business and I believe that they are the key factor to our success as a company.” Simon Mansbridge said.
As part of their sustainability values, the Kurt J. Lesker Company continuously is looking into sustainable ways to operate their business. At their new facility in St Leonards, for example, they are using 100% renewable energy. For shipping, they are also using 100% recyclable boxes which are made from recycled material.
From humble beginnings in 1990 the Kurt J. Lesker Company is growing from strength to strength. KJLC is expanding quickly in the rapidly growing semiconductor market with an extensive range of vacuum products. They have doubled their revenue in the last seven years and now have over 90 employees in their St Leonards headquarters. The company has ambitious plans to recruit many more employees in the Hastings area over the months ahead, including apprenticeships and internships.
They are having an opening ceremony for their new EMEIA headquarters on Thursday 27th October 2022, including a visit from the mayor to officially open the building!
lesker.com
Why is Cyber Essentials certification more important than ever for SMBs?
According to government statistics, 39%* of businesses were targeted by a cyberattack in the UK last year. As cyberattacks become increasingly sophisticated, and we head into recessionary times, it is even more important for businesses to secure their IT systems, and reduce the risk of a potentially costly cyberattack.
Andrew Hookway
Director Extech-Cloud
Many business owners don’t realise that whilst most newsworthy cyberattacks target large businesses and enterprises, it is just as common for small businesses to be attacked, as they are less likely to have invested in securing their IT systems.
Andrew Hookway, Managing Director, Extech Cloud, explains why SMB owners should be investing in strengthening their security postures, and achieving Cyber Essentials certification.
What is a Cyber Essentials certification?
Cyber Essentials is a UK Governmentbacked scheme designed to protect organisations against common cyberattacks. There are two levels of certification: Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus. Cyber Essentials is a selfassessment, that ensures businesses have controls in place to protect against most common cyberattacks. Cyber Essentials Plus is a more in-depth certification and includes hands-on technical verification.
The Cyber Essentials certification covers firewalls, secure configuration, user access control, malware protection, security update management, and more. The certification lasts for 12 months and is regularly updated to ensure businesses are protected against novel attack methods.
The importance of cybersecurity for SMBs in 2022
All small businesses are at risk of falling victim to a cyberattack. The most common cyberattacks being phishing, data breaches and ransomware attacks. Any of these could be devastating for a business, in terms of the cost of remediation, and reputation damage.
Thankfully, many of these attacks are carried out by relatively unskilled cybercriminals and therefore can be stopped by implementing basic security controls. Furthermore, with a Cyber Essentials certification, these attacks are no longer viable.
Five Benefits of a Cyber Essentials certification for SMBs
1. Reduce the chance of falling victim to a cyberattack
The overall goal of Cyber Essentials is to reduce your business’s cyber risk. As the assessment covers most attack surfaces and the associated technical security controls, Cyber Essentials covers all the bases to protect from 80% of common cyberattacks. Although cybercriminals’ methods are constantly changing, these technical controls will typically stop novel attack methods, especially if they are not highly targeted attacks.
2. Gain a competitive advantage
If you own a small business in a competitive industry, a Cyber Essentials certification can help you stand apart from the competition. Displaying the Cyber Essentials certification badge on your website and other marketing materials, shows that your business takes security seriously, and assures customers (consumer and corporate), they are less likely to have their data leaked as part of a customer data breach.
3. Find new business opportunities
A Cyber Essentials certification is mandatory for businesses considering submitting a bid for a contract with the NHS, Ministry of Defence, and UK Government. Many private sector businesses also look for the Cyber Essentials badge of approval when seeking new suppliers.
4. Improve credibility and reputation
The technical controls necessary to obtain a Cyber Essentials certification are relatively simple to implement, and the self-assessment is a quick and easy process. This simple and affordable certification can add significant value to your business as it improves credibility and reputation. Cyber Essentials shows that your business is committed to protecting your customers’ data and taking action to reduce the chance of falling victim to a cyberattack.
5. Free Cyber Liability Insurance
Cyber Essentials certification automatically entitles your business to free Cyber Liability Insurance up to £25,000 of indemnity. This also enables access to a 24-hour hotline for reporting cyber incidents, crisis management, and incident response. For businesses that do not already have cyber insurance, this is a perfect option to recover from a small breach or incident. Many cyber insurance providers will also give discounts to businesses that are Cyber Essentials certified.
How to obtain Cyber Essentials certification
For businesses that are not well-versed in the world of cybersecurity, it can be difficult to implement the technical controls necessary to obtain a Cyber Essentials certification. Extech Cloud helps businesses implement the technical controls, and provides additional security services to further reduce their chances of falling victim to a cyberattack.
