NOT JUST HOT AIR! £190m FLOAT FOR KETTLE PIONEER

Strix makes kettle temperature controls used 1bn times a day by 15pc of world’s population

Its technology effectively switches off kettles to stop them boiling dry

It was founded by inventor Eric Taylor in 1951 who also created heated flight suits for Second World War RAF pilots

The firm’s devices are used in more than 66m kettles a year Electric kettles are rare in American homes because their low-voltage grid means it takes far longer to boil water

Ironically, the first electric kettle came from Carpenter Electric Company in Chicago in 1891

THE world’s top kettle technology manufacturer is set to go public after a £190m flotation on the London Stock Exchange.

Strix makes safety controls which switch the devices off when the water has boiled. The business fits out 38pc of the 174m kettles sold across the globe each year.

The Isle of Man-based company’s customers include blue-chip clients such as Tesco, Walmart and Siemens.

Although it has long dominated the British market and expects little UK growth, the emerging Chinese mid- dle class has embraced the electric kettle and is driving market growth of 6pc a year.

Strix turned over £88.7m last year, up 11pc on the previous 12 months, while profits climbed by £200,000 to £22m. It employs 830 on the Isle of Man and in Guangzhou, China.

It has paid just £2.6m of corporation tax in the last three years because the island’s manufacturing firms are exempt.

The shares will start trading at 100p each on the AIM junior market on Tuesday.