A Skipton loudspeaker company is hoping to revolutionise business through a new product line.

Castle Acoustics, which designs and builds speakers for hi-fi dealers around the world, is working on a new piece of equipment which uses a granite-like compound developed in the nuclear industry.

The firm, based at Park Mill in Shortbank Road, has won a Department of Trade and Industry Smart award to help finance the development, which it hopes will deliver clearer sound.

Managing director Graham McGee said: "This invention has potentially global implications and could lead to huge expansion for the company.

"Current loudspeakers tend to distort sound to varying degrees because they vibrate. We expect this new speaker, due out early next year, to be so strong and resonance-free that it will produce sound which is as true to the original recording as is feasibly possible."

The business was helped in its bid for the Smart funding by Business Link North Yorkshire's innovation and technology adviser, Roger Benson.

Mr Benson said: "I am delighted to have helped Castle Acoustics.

"I am sure the company is set for great success with its ground breaking technology, and I look forward to helping it develop in the future."

Founded in 1973, the business has 40 staff and is well-known for its wooden sound cabinets, which are manufactured in-house.

In keeping with its own name, the firm has named its current ranges of speakers after British castles.