Dromore businessman ‘owns’ a piece of the medal action

Entrepreneur Colin Edgar, owner of Dromore company CET CryoSpas, furnished a recovery room in the athletes’ village with his 21st Century ice-baths, and after Team GB’s success, clocking up 29 Gold medals in the UK’s best ever Olympic showing, its

Director of Performance Services, Dave Reddin, composed an official ‘thank-you’ recognising Colin’s contribution.

In it, he wrote, “Colin and all at CET, thank you for your support, effort and fantastic product; the CET Cryospas were the right choice and a huge success, allowing us to provide the best possible support to Team GB in London.

“Thank you for going the extra mile and take pride that a piece of every medal is yours.”

After being presented with the framed letter, Colin, who has also supplied his ice bath-style spas to Manchester City, AC Milan, Glasgow Warriors, the English Institute of Sport, the New York Jets and the New Jersey Nets, revealed that his Olympic adventure happened by chance.

“We signed up for the Olympic suppliers gateway, CompeteFor, a couple of years ago but the process was so bureaucratic that I didn’t pursue it,” he said. “Then, this time last year, we supplied a CryoSpa to the English Institute of Sport at Loughborough University where Team GB would be headquartered for their pre-Olympic Training.

“It was by chance that the Director of Performance Services for Team GB, Dave Reddin, saw our installation there and he contacted me in February this year to discuss his plans for the recovery suite for Team GB in the Olympic Village.”

He added, “Extensive negotiations took place over the next couple of months and it was proposed that we supply six units - five cold and one hot.”

The installation of the specialist spas presented some challenges but in the end Colin managed to complete the job by working round the clock at his Dromore headquarters.

Colin says he feels proud to have played a small part in the most successful Olympic Games ever.

“All in all it’s a great boost for a small business from rural Co.Down,” he said. “It’s proof that world-class equipment can be produced locally and that we can compete with any manufacturers worldwide.”

This month Colin has received two new orders for his ice bath-style spas from the German Olympic Association and he has also set the wheels in motion for a new project called ‘Salsa Bikes’ - which will allow cyclists to design their own colourful bikes and even change from single-speed to multi-geared without splashing out on a new model.

The Salsa Bike project is being run via Kickstarter, a funding platform for creative projects, which was launched in the UK in November following huge success in the USA. For more information about Salsa Bikes, visit www.salsabikes.co.uk/kickstarter.