Pioneering Coventry maritime company named among best places to work in country by Sunday Times
A Coventry-based pioneering maritime company which uses ultrasound to help ships become more fuel-efficient has been named as among the best places to work in the country.
Sonihull, based at Westwood Business Park, was listed in The Sunday Times’ Best Places To Work 2024 alongside firms such as Octopus Energy, Tui, and Vitality.
The firm’s industry-leading products prevent marine life binding to ships’ hulls without the use of harmful chemicals.
To create the list, The Sunday Times conducted surveys of hundreds of companies to assess employee engagement, wellbeing, and discretionary effort.
This led to Sonihull being included for its commitment to developing its team of 27 staff, encouraging role-switching where possible, offering plenty of travel, and committing to making improvements after suggestions from staff during company town hall meetings.
Darren Rowlands, CEO and founder of Sonihull, said: “While we continue to innovate to help our maritime customers improve their energy efficiency, it is crucial that we also look after our staff who make the growth of our company possible.
“Having the right company culture, where all staff feel valued and listen to, has resulted in excellent growth and success for Sonihull and has enabled us to attract and keep highly talented employees.
“For example, a town hall meeting resulted in our half-day Friday policy after suggestions from staff members. This has led to a boost in wellbeing with no drop-off in productivity whatsoever.
“We’re delighted The Sunday Times has recognised this by including us in their listing alongside some incredible companies, and we are hopeful we can continue to appear on subsequent lists as we continue to grow.”
Sonihull, which won a King’s Award for Enterprise last year, uses a range of products to emit ultrasonic soundwaves across a ship’s hull to prevent marine wildlife such as algae, molluscs and weeds from binding to the surface and reducing fuel efficiency.
Its products also mean toxic biocidal coatings, which are traditionally used to stop marine life binding to surfaces, do not need to be used.
Parent company NRG Marine also recently launched a sister company, Agitate, which uses the same ultrasound technology to prevent build-up of debris in pipes used in many industrial sectors.
