SAM unveils award-winning Asset Management System to 80-plus Tee

September 22nd 2026

A fast-growing Teesside company has showcased its award-winning Asset Management System to more than 80 business leaders at a special event hosted by AV Dawson.
Stockton-based Southern Asset Management (SAM) brought businesses from across the region together to demonstrate its Asset Management System, which is already being used by AV Dawson to help manage and monitor its infrastructure.
SAM founder and CEO Steve Southern, the current Tees Business Leader of the Year, gave a live demonstration of the System before joining AV Dawson’s Head of Engineering Mark Wells for a Q&A session, giving guests the opportunity to see how the technology is being used in a real-world business environment.
The event at The Stathes building also provided an opportunity for Steve to reflect on how far SAM has come, and to reveal what is next for the business.
SAM was founded in 2022 after Steve identified an opportunity to use technology to improve the way structural testing and asset management is carried out.
The company specialises in the inspection and testing of lighting columns, high masts, signs and other structures, but its technology has since become a major part of its growth strategy.
Its unique Asset Management System, conceived by Steve and developed in-house, brings together asset information, locations, photographs, inspection results and compliance records in one digital platform.
Steve said: “It was fantastic to have more than 80 people come along and see what we’ve been developing.
We wanted to show people not just what the System does, but how it can be used in the real world.
Having Mark and the AV Dawson team there to talk about their experience was a really important part of that.”
For AV Dawson, the event also provided an opportunity to demonstrate how SAM’s technology is being used within its own operation.
Mark Wells joined Steve for the Q&A, discussing AV Dawson’s experience of using the System and the potential benefits of having asset information and inspection data available through a single digital platform.
The event comes during a period of significant growth for SAM.
Founded in 2022, the company has grown from a four-person start-up into a 13-strong business, while turnover has tripled.
That growth has been supported by investment from NEL Fund Managers through the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, helping SAM expand into new markets and invest in recruitment and skills.
The company's technology has also attracted national recognition.
In 2025, the SAM Asset Management System won the Digital Revolution category at the North East Chamber of Commerce awards.
It was then named British Chambers of Commerce Digital Revolution Business of the Year, beating regional winners from across the UK.
Steve's own leadership has also been recognised, with him currently holding the title of Tees Business Leader of the Year.
Now the Teesside business is looking beyond the UK.
Steve is preparing to join the North East Chamber of Commerce trade mission to Singapore, where he will showcase SAM's technology and explore opportunities to take the system into international markets.
He said: “Singapore is a really exciting opportunity for us. We’ve built this business here in Stockton, with support from people and organisations across the North East, and now we have the opportunity to take what we’ve developed into an international market.
The awards have given us a great platform, but for us it’s really about what comes next. We want to keep developing the system, keep growing the business and see where we can take the technology.”
The company’s international ambitions come just four years after SAM was established.
Steve added: “When we started SAM, we knew there was a better way of doing things.
The Asset Management System has developed significantly since then, and we’re still only scratching the surface of what it can do. The support we’ve had from the North East business community has been a huge part of our journey, so being able to host an event like this in front of more than 80 businesses is a real milestone for us.”
The AV Dawson event marks another step in SAM’s development as it looks to build on its success in the North East, expand its customer base and take its technology proposition into new sectors and international markets.