Pictured above: CRT chief executive Simon Rowland hands the keys to the company's office back to Business Innovation Centre manager Karen Aston

A West Midlands based technology company is undergoing a major expansion for the fifth time in less than ten years.

Customer Research Technology (CRT) is ready to fly the nest from the University of Warwick Science Park's Business Innovation Centre in Binley, Coventry having undergone as many as four moves within the centre in recent years. 

CRT specialises in industry leading customer survey solutions which collect customer feedback on touch screens, online or by SMS, to help businesses and organisations improve their customer service.

Its systems are used in hospitals, shops and at tourism attractions across the UK and Europe, and now even as far a field as New Zealand. 

The company launched at the Business Innovation Centre in 2001 with just three staff but had doubled its work force and the size of its office by 2004. 

CRT moved again to an 880 sq ft base within the centre during the summer of 2006, before boosting its team to 22 full-time staff and moving into a unit more than twice the size in May last year. 

And having enjoyed another successful year, the now 26-strong firm is off to pastures new.

Simon Rowland, chief executive of CRT, said: "In this fragile economic climate we have been able to continue our growth because we work across the retail, leisure and public sectors, helping them to improve their service levels. 

"I came into the company in late 2005 and the developments within the firm since then have been huge. 

"Back then nobody had heard of touch screen feedback systems but now touch screens are everywhere including on people's phones, tablets and computers and its use has really exploded which has been fantastic for CRT as a wide range of products run our software. 

"Being based at the Science Park in Coventry has been tremendous as it has allowed us to constantly grow and as well as continuing to supply our feedback products to leading high street retailers across the UK, such as Specsavers, around 80 hospitals as well as leisure centres, councils and the Police. We are now also reaching organisations all over the world." 

Karen Aston, centre manager at the University of Warwick's Business Innovation Centre, added: "CRT started out with a 300 sq ft office at the centre and in nine years has enjoyed tremendous success which has seen them move several times within the building. 

"The company was created as a result of a Business Creation Programme run by the University of Warwick Science Park in the late 1990s, which has led to CRT outgrowing the Business Innovation Centre and moving to their own building. Over the years, CRT have taken advantage of other business support available to all our tenants including the Student Placement Scheme.

"I'd like to wish Simon and the CRT team all the best at their new home and I look forward to seeing them at the centre in the near future as they are keen to continue to take advantage of some of our business support services such as use of our meeting rooms.

"In many ways, it's a case of 'job done' for us. The company came to us as a start-up and now they leave as a thriving technology business. Now, with the space available, the process can begin with the next fledgling company."