PTG triumphs at China Business Awards
ROCHDALE’S Precision Technologies Group (PTG Holroyd) has won the Greater China Business Award for the North West.
The award, presented at a ceremony at the Lowry Theatre on Friday night, recognises companies that have made the most significant contribution to developing business with Greater China. It is organised by UK Trade & Investment North West and sponsored by Finnair, HSBC and Klako Group.
PTG established a Chinese office in 2007 and was acquired by Chongqing Machinery & Electric Co Ltd (CQME) in 2010. As a result sales into China have increased year-on-year.
It is also a founder member of the Manchester-China Forum, an initiative aimed at strengthening ties between the city region and China. The runner-up was Instem from Liverpool, which supplies IT solutions to the global drug and chemical markets. Third place went to Sigmatex from Runcorn, a manufacturer of technical fabrics for aerospace, defence and engineering.
Biomass Engineering from Newton-le-Willows won the Greater China Rising Star Award which recognises companies that have made great progress over the past three years. The firm designs, delivers and installs renewable energy systems and first entered the Chinese market after designing a renewable energy system for the Hongqiao central business district in 2012.
Runner-up was Kendal company Q Medical Technologies which exports products which prevent cross infection in the medical and food industries. Third place went to Tulip from Dukinfield, exporters of Pork Meat products.
Philomena Chen, head of Asia Pacific development for UK Trade & Investment North West said: “There was an outstanding level of entries for this year’s Greater China Awards, across a wide range of sectors from advanced manufacturing to food production and from IT to chemicals.
“The 2014 winners are the companies who have showed the most evidence of a commitment to the market and who have successfully expanded their business in mainland China, Hong Kong or Taiwan. Our winner, PTG Holroyd, has struck an excellent balance between China and the UK in the areas of research, production and market penetration.
“The company has always shown great determination in the Chinese market, immersing itself in local culture and business practices as early as the 1980’s when few businesses had the foresight to anticipate China’s growth potential.
Clive Drinkwater, regional director for UK Trade & Investment North West, said: “Exports from our region to Greater China in the 12 months ending September 2013 were around £2bn, and China has been the North West’s strongest growth market for several years. Our third biggest export customer, it has overtaken historically big markets such as Ireland and the Netherlands.
“There has been major growth in many sectors, including iron and steel (up 1,000% to £46m) organic chemicals (up 93% to £58m) and even drinks (up 138% to £421,000), but as these awards show, there is great potential across many sectors.
“We are extremely proud of our success in China, and I would strongly encourage other companies in the North West to make sure the region is winning the global race in the Year of the Horse by following the example of our winners and exploring opportunities there with the help of our Asia-Pacific business team.”
Janice Russell, the senior international manager at HSBC in spinningfields, Manchester won the Greater China Recognition Award in recognition of furthering relationships with Greater China.
