more about us...

blacktrace is committed to helping our clients achieve business success

Our mission is to create business success for our company, our clients and our partners by developing and manufacturing elegant solutions in technology. It is a key maxim for us that form should fuse with function, and that usability must be at the heart of any design. Blacktrace is where science meets engineering, and world-class ideas are transformed into world-class products.

Blacktrace services encompass the complete product life cycle. Whether it’s taking the kernel of an idea and developing it into a coherent vision, or transforming a working prototype into a market-leading product, we can help at any or all of the steps along the way. Where quality and precision are key, we can also assist with manufacture and supply - from core sub-assemblies to complete fully-tested systems.

Blacktrace is not just a consultancy, we have the confidence in our technologies to design and sell our own products based on them. Examples of our designs can be seen the websites of our sister companies Syrris and Dolomite Microfluidics. We also make available some of our core technology modules as OEM components should you have your own design team and wish to build on our proven high-quality backbone.

The main offices of blacktrace are situated in Royston, UK. We are located close to the heart of “Silicon Fen”, sharing capabilities and expertise with many leading technology companies. We have a dedicated sales and support office in the US. As a member of the Syrris Group, we  also have local representatives throughout most of the rest of the world.

executive team

The blacktrace executive team is focussed on pursuing excellent results in all areas of business operations. As well as taking a hands-on role, we provide the environment and processes that allow our staff to give outstanding value to our customers.

Mark Gilligan - executive chairman and commercial director
	Mark’s speciality is productising science. In other words, taking science and creating a commercially successful product offering. Mark started his working life being purely interested in the challenge of developing new products and technologies. Early in his career, Mark started to realise that he had more ideas than time to develop them. Mark has since successfully started and run more than one company. He started Syrris in August 2001 to address the challenges faced by the Pharmaceutical industry by the development and application of new technologies. A key to this was a technology roadmap aimed at developing Microfluidic and Microreactor technologies for R+D Chemistry. Syrris has now grown to be a group of companies with over 40 people working in 5 countries. The Dolomite subsidiary of the Syrris Group is focussed on providing Microfluidic Solutions to customers around the world in a very wide range of applications.
Andrew Lovatt - CEO
	Since completing is PhD at Cambridge, UK, Andrew has worked in a variety of technology sectors. Whilst a consultant at Scientific Generics, he was involved in development of next-generation products ranging from novel food packaging (with selective frosting areas to reveal logos) through the first consumer postage printers to sophisticated tracking and visualisation systems for simulating horse races in real time. He has also had experience in a variety of other sectors including security printing, sonar measurement devices, telecom production and autonomous vehicles. Andrew joined the Syrris Group in 2001, and was responsible for the development of the underlying software and electronic architecture and systems used across the product ranges. As CEO of blacktrace, Andrew brings together his wide ranging experience of many technologies with a sound understanding of business practices. Andrew leads from the front, and still gets involved in the details of coding, electrical schematics and industrial design where time permits!
Richard Grey - head of sales
	Richard is responsible for worldwide sales and collaborations for blacktrace. Richard moved to the USA in 2004, managing sales for Syrris and Dolomite products. Richard’s background includes wide experience of fast-track product and process development in consumer, medical device and industrial sectors.  Prior to becoming a founder member and Director of Syrris in 2001, Richard was a General Manager in Mettler Toledo’s Automated Chemistry group, starting up and leading a 50-strong business in design and manufacturing of automation for the pharmaceutical industry.  He has also worked in technical consulting at The Technology Partnership and PA Technology. Richard has an MA in Engineering from Cambridge University and a Diploma in Management Studies.

We depend on the skills of our colleagues, and we therefore help them to grow to fulfil their potential. We take pride in our very low personnel turnover, which is the case across all functions from administration to marketing to engineering. The capabilities our development team bring include:

• Software: C#, C++, Python, qt, embedded OS, embedded C, Linux kernel driver development
• Electronics: schematic capture and layout, analogue design, design with MCUs (PICs, Scilabs)
• Mechanical: Pro/E, AutoCAD, SolidWorks, 3D Studio, Render tools