ROUND-the-world yachtsman Bob Harrison sailed into his latest venture after setting up business in Gwent.

Mr Harrison, who conquered the globe with his family in a 35-foot yacht, has swapped a life on the ocean wave for a brace of business units in Blaenavon. Mr Harrison has set up a firm, called Super Rod, which makes innovative routing tools for electrical installers.

The business, which is based in two units at the Gilchrist Thomas Industrial Estate, Blaenavon, makes a range of flexible glass reinforced plastic (GRP) rods and attachments.

The cable rods and attachments are used to either push or pull electrical or computer network cables over ceilings, under floors, in conduit and through walls. The devices are said to save time and money over traditional methods.

Mr Harrison and his wife, Lindsay , who live in Crickhowell, admit that setting up the new business was a massive challenge.

Mr Harrison said: "I was very confident that their products would be of great value to electricians, but actually getting a business up and running, sourcing materials suppliers, launching the products and establishing sales outlets has taken a massive effort."

Mrs Harrison said: "Cable Rods have dominated our lives for the past year but it is rewarding to have so quickly established the products as leaders in the field. "We listened to what electrical installers had to say about cabling problems and produced sample products for them to test and evaluate.

"They found that using our products produced big time savings and many traditionally two-man cabling jobs could be carried out effectively by a single person." She said the firm had received advice and support from the Entrepreneur Action business mentor, Don Cecil, and from the WDA entrepreneur support programme.

*PICTURED: With Bob are staff, from left, Lizzie Barz, Clare Richards, Denis Chapman, Claire Scammel and Lindsay Harrison.