Cambridgeshire-based Delta-T Devices, which makes soil and plant sensors for scientists and growers, has reached annual sales of £5 million in its 55th year, up £1.5 million since 2021.
Around 80% of its revenue comes from exports to more than 20 countries across five continents, with the US, China and Europe among its biggest markets. The company, based in Burwell, serves plant science, soil science, commercial horticulture and solar energy customers.
From research labs to growers’ fields
Delta-T’s growth has come from taking five decades of research-grade measurement into larger commercial markets. Its products include the WET range of sensors, which measure moisture, temperature and nutrient levels in soil and growing media, and Celora, a wireless unit that sends readings to the cloud over 4G.
Its WET Sensor technology has even been used in experiments growing lettuce in space.
Head of sales and marketing Mark Daniels said accurate data “matters just as much to a grower managing irrigation” as it does to a scientist. Chair Heidi Hathaway said the company’s original purpose was to make instruments for “socially worthwhile purposes at a reasonable cost”.
Why soil moisture data matters more than ever
The milestone comes at the end of a summer that tested UK growers’ water supplies. The Met Office confirmed that summer 2026 was the UK’s hottest on record. Many areas received less than half their usual rainfall, and RHS Wisley went more than 60 days without rain.
With water restrictions in place in parts of the country, knowing exactly how much water is in the root zone, rather than irrigating by routine, has become a practical way to save water and protect yields. Sensors that measure moisture and nutrient levels together, like Delta-T’s, let growers water only when and where crops need it.
After two record summers in a row, that kind of precision is moving from a nice-to-have to an essential part of the growing toolkit.
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