Hebburn-based industrial brush manufacturer shortlisted for national innovation award
A Hebburn-based brush manufacturer is among other firms up for a national manufacturing innovation award.
A Hebburn company has made the shortlist for a national innovation award after investing £10,000 to develop a roller brush system that dramatically reduces maintenance costs and downtime.
Cottam Brush, based at Monkton Business Park North, is a finalist in the Innovation of the Year category at the Made in Britain Impact Awards 2026 for its patent-pending ‘SPLITGRIP’ brush system.
The sixth-generation family-run business is competing alongside eight other businesses in the category, with the winner announced on Wednesday, November 4.
Having been developed over the course of a year, SPLITGRIP enables worn brush sections to be replaced individually without having to remove shafts, bearings, motors or surrounding equipment.
According to the Hebburn organisation, it could potentially cut maintenance time from days to hours.
‘Fantastic recognition’
Nick Palreyman, Head of Product and Design at Cottam Brush, has praised the work that the company’s team has put into creating the ‘SPLITGRIP’ following its national shortlisting.
He said: “The real cost of replacing an industrial brush isn't necessarily the brush itself, but the downtime and engineering time involved.
“SPLITGRIP™ makes maintenance quicker and simpler, getting equipment back into production sooner, while allowing individual worn sections to be replaced rather than the complete assembly.
“To see it shortlisted for Innovation of the Year is fantastic recognition for the team and the work that has gone into developing it.”
‘A real endorsement’
Designed for retrofit applications, Cottam Brush has stated that SPLITGRIP can be engineered for round, square and hexagonal shafts, with potential applications across conveyor and bulk handling systems, recycling, quarrying, food processing, manufacturing and OEM equipment.
Alan Crook, the Managing Director at Cottam Brush, hopes that the SPLITGRIP will create “significant opportunities” for the company, with the award shortlisting signally a “real endorsement”.
He added: “We believe it will open significant opportunities for Cottam in the UK and overseas, so being shortlisted for a Made in Britain Impact Award is a real endorsement of what we are trying to achieve.
“We have more than 168 years of manufacturing heritage, but our future depends on continuing to innovate and develop products that solve real problems for industry.”