Page 3 Profile: Nick Grey, inventor

That’s a nice bit of kit.

Move over James Dyson, there’s a new poster-boy of British invention in town – and he’s got his sights set on your turf.

My turf?

No, Dyson’s turf. Grey’s new vacuum cleaner, the Gtech AirRam, has cleaned the floor with its competitors, become the UK’s best-selling model. And Grey, 45 – who left school with two O-levels – runs his revolutionary company from a farm near North Piddle in Worcestershire.

What’s he done?

Here’s the pitch: it’s a lightweight cordless vacuum cleaner that utilises ingenious internal compression technology to form bales from sucked-up dirt which are then easy to dispose of. No need for bags! Or cords! And it’s as light as a feather. Grey is keeping details of how AirRam works close to his chest.

So he’s Hoovered up?

Launched in 2001, Gtech has found its feet in the last three years. Britons bought 32,000 of his lightweight contraptions in March alone, and the company is next year set to double its turnover from 2013 to £40m.

And Dyson?

You know you have your competitor rattled when he takes out full-page ads in national newspapers claiming his product (the Dyson DC59 Animal) is better than yours. Grey seems unfazed: “To give him credit, Dyson completely transformed the industry. People like me see him as a father figure.” Take that, oldie.