Future Fibre Technologies (FFT) has received the nation's highest exporting accolade at the 48th Australian Export Awards Ceremony, held tonight in Sydney. FFT won the Small to Medium Manufacturer Award, sponsored by the Commonwealth Bank, and then received the Award night's top honour, the Prime Minister's Australian Exporter of the Year. The Prime Minister's Australian Exporter of the Year is selected from the winners of the 12national award categories.

One of the country's longest-running and most prestigious business award programs, the Australian Export Awards celebrates Australia's best exporters, commending them for their achievements and commitment. The Australian Export Awards are co-presented by the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Sally-Ann Watts, Austrade's State Manager for Victoria, said that Future Fibre Technologies was an excellent example of a Victorian company representing its state internationally.

 "Future Fibre Technologies has made a significant contribution, not just to its community, but also to the national prosperity," Ms Watts said. "It represents what is best about Australian business - dynamic, resourceful and determined to succeed in international business.

Established in Melbourne in 1994, FFT is now the global market leader in the manufacturing of fibre optic intrusion detection and location systems. These systems protect the perimeters of high value and high-risk assets worldwide, including industrial, military, petrochemical and government sites. Earlier systems were able only to identify that an intrusion had occurred, not the location. FFT developed core technology with the potential to pinpoint the location of intrusions over many kilometres of deployed optical fibre. FFT now has thousands of kilometres of fibre optic intrusion detection installed, pinpointing the location of intrusions at hundreds of installations worldwide.