About Us: Take A Step Inside Kitronik HQ
Kitronik is a company of Engineers, Designers, Makers, and Educators that are passionate about what we do and why we are doing it. Since 2005 we have been producing high-quality products for Education and Makers. Specialising in electronic project kits, we also stock the microbit / Raspberry Pi / Arduino and accessories, plywood, e-textiles , Perspex, clocks and much more.
We aim to inspire & engage people of all abilities to further their knowledge of Electronics, Coding & Design. We offer a well designed, well manufactured, innovative product range and free resources. All backed by detailed product descriptions, knowledgeable staff, and fast delivery.
The Kitronik Commitment To Customer Service:
First and foremost, Customer Service is at the heart of everything we do and are. Every member of the Kitronik team is actively involved in delivering the best customer experience possible. From the products we design and stock all the way through to our customer care and after-sales support. We are one team, with one common goal, and nothing is more important than consistently delivering exemplary customer service.
Our customer care team has the experience and the technical know how to efficiently meet all of our customer's needs. They offer advice, support and detailed explanations of our kits and products to customers on a daily basis. They are also backed up by a company of experts who are always ready to assist them.
The Kitronik Commitment To Education:
Kitronik supplies over 3500 Schools with the Materials and Kits that they require to engage and inspire the next generation of Scientists, Engineers, and Designers. Right back to the first kits we made, Teaching resources were at the forefront of the design considerations. Almost every kit produced by us has detailed Teaching resources. These are are also backed up by a wealth of free web based resources.
We regularly talk to and work directly with Teachers to improve the scope and quality of the resources we produce for our products. We also get directly involved in teacher training through CPDs. Additionally, we have also held our own Teacher training CPDs, which we found to be a valuable learning resource for us too. The CPDs reinforced that teaching is much more than just knowing your subject.
At Kitronik Our People Are Our Strength:
To deliver the best our people have to be the best, and they are. Investing in our people is the same as investing in quality and the customer experience. Each member of the team has the experience, the expertise and the confidence to meet the needs of the customer and the business on a daily basis. Each individual area of the business operates as a team within a team, each playing their part to ensure that Kitronik operates at maximum efficiency across the board.
Designed & Manufactured By Kitronik:
Kitronik has supplied in excess of 2 million of our own designed kits. Every single kit that we design is also manufactured by us, on-site, in Nottingham. If it carries the Kitronik logo, you know it was designed and assembled into kits in Nottingham by us.
Meanwhile, we continue to invest in improving our manufacturing infrastructure on an ongoing basis with new equipment and new techniques. As well as moving to a new HQ recently, we also greatly increased our manufacturing capacity in both our Laser cutting and SMT rooms. Our new HQ also has plenty of room for us to grow into, ensuring that supply is always in step with demand.
In addition, we have also invested heavily in our product development capabilities. Furthermore, we now play home to a diverse team of Engineering and Design experts. Our development team split their time equally between dreaming, designing and delivering world-class kits and products for makers and educators alike.
Kitronik History:
Kitronik was founded in 2005 by Geoff Hampson and Kevin Spurr. After graduating from Loughborough University in the field of Electronic Engineering they set out to fill a void in the resources available for those just starting out with Electronics. On the 14th December 2005 the first order was received and the very first sale was dispatched to a School in Lancashire.
The idea for the company came from Geoff Hampson's work with scout tech camps. From 2002 he began designing kits for the scouts build and learn basic electronics and making skills. Each year would feature a new kit and some of these kits later became Kitronik products.
Location, Location, Location:
In August 2006, we moved into Unit 18 (275 sq feet), Lenton Business Centre in Nottingham which also marked the start of us warehousing our own stock rather than using a Fulfilment House. In June 2008 we added the space of unit 25 to that of unit 18 (520 sq feet total). Then in December of the same year swapped Unit 25 for the larger Unit 17 (760 sq feet total).
Then in April 2011 we moved from Lenton Business Centre and moved into Unit 3A of Shipstones Business Centre in Nottingham (2800 sq feet). In July 2013 Units 1 and 2 were added to 3A, giving a total operating space of 8000 sq feet.
Subsequently, in May 2018 we moved from Shipstones Business Centre to Unit 12a, Glaisdale Point, Glaisdale Parkway in Nottingham. Kitronik now has a total operating space of 19,000 sq feet.
Meet The Kitronik Directors:
Geoff Hampson:
Joint company founder Geoff Hampson is an expert on all things electronic. He has designed some of our interesting project kits and explains why they might be useful in day to day life as well as being great fun. Geoff studied at Loughborough University earning a first class honours in electronic computer & systems engineering.
Before starting Kitronik he worked at Ramtech Electronics, Siemens Communications and Mars Electronics.
Kevin Spurr:
Joint company founder Kevin Spurr is never happier than when designing great electronic projects and offering an insight into the world of educational electronics. Kevin studied Electrical Electronic Engineering at Loughborough University.
Before starting Kitronik he helped design the first Gigabit Ethernet Switch at 3Com and designed long-range wireless alarms at Ramtech.
The BBC microbit Project And Kitronik:
In 2012 the BBC, recognising the growing tech skills gap in the UK. They aimed to develop a technology that they would give free to one million British school children to help rectify this. This technology would encourage them to write code and build things rather than just be consumers of media. They gathered together 29 partner organisations to help them design, manufacture and, to roll out this new educational device.
As one of the 29 partners, we developed teaching and learning resources for schools and also gave away 5,500 e-textile sewing kits to Design and Technology teachers. We also developed supporting electronics and kits, designed to facilitate students learning how to build and control electronic circuits with code. After the rollout to British school children the BBC micro:bit was made available to the general public to buy. The BBC subsequently put together a group of official re-sellers, which includes Kitronik, to facilitate this.
The BBC has since handed over the reigns to the micro:bit Educational Foundation, a non-profit organisation. Their vision is to inspire every child to create their best digital future, both at home and abroad. In addition to continuing to produce some of the best microbit products available, we have also created a wealth of free microbit learning resources. These free resources are available to anyone that wants to learn with no signups or catches attached.