A west Suffolk company which was operating solely out of the UK two years ago has now opened its 16th overseas office.

Sudbury-based Echo Barrier, which has become a leading player in noise reduction barriers for construction sites and events, has seen demand for its products continuing to climb amid an increase in building ativity and increased awareness of the potential impact of noise on health and community relations.Its barriers can reduce the amount of dust and debris escaping on to the street.

The first overseas market y targeted by the compoany was Australia in early 2012, where the brand became an instant hit, being used on projects such as the Sydney suburban rail network maintenance works.

A United States office followed, thanks to a deal with distributor Acoustical Instruments Inc. Further offices in locations including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong followed, with most recent addition being an office is in Munich, Germany.

Talks are also in progress to set up bases in the Netherlands, Spain and Russia. Other countries in which Echo Barrier trades include New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, India, Switzerland and Slovakia.

Technical director Peter Wilson said: “As the construction sector is emerging from a tough couple of years and spending is starting to increase, we are seeing more requirements for our product.

“However, as building work starts again, more organisations are starting to consider more the impact the works noise has on their local community, whether it is homeowners, commuters or workplaces. It is this, coupled with the bigger budgets available that means all of the big players have been in touch about noise attenuation.

“Opening up offices and supplying our product overseas was a natural move for us, as the industry as a whole has the same issues when it comes to noise pollution. We are thrilled at the level of interest we have seen in the barriers overseas, and our plan is to open up as many offices and increase distributors worldwide as possible.”