Manufacturing group chairman wins lifetime achievement award
Hadley Group chairman Stewart Towe won the lifetime achievement award at the Nachural Summer Business Awards, in recognition of the success of his manufacturing business and his wider involvement in the Black Country economy.
Towe has been on the main board of the business for 40 years and has owned it since 2006, with the group growing its annual revenues to nearly £200m. He was also recognised for this commitment to the community through his various roles, including being chairman of the Black Country Enterprise.
TPL Media, a Black Country direct marketing business employing more than 450 people, was named business of the year.
The sell-out event brought together 520 people from the Black Country and wider West Midlands business community on Wolverhampton Racecourse on Friday night.
The event raised more than £10,000 for the charity Acorns.
Event organiser and Nachural chief executive Ninder Johal said: “We had a brilliant set of high-quality nominations from all over the Midlands and it was fitting that Stewart Towe was recognised for his role in giving back to the community in which his business operates.
“Too often business is not recognised for its commitment to society and its talent at creating wealth and sustainable communities.
“But there was also a sense on the night of the awards that SMEs were looking for greater clarity from whom ever becomes Prime Minister with regards to Brexit and a demand for greater devolved powers from Whitehall so that regions can serve the needs of their local communities much more effectively with regards to skills, infrastructure and housing.”
The keynote speaker was Walsall-based HomeServe UK’s chief executive Greg Reed, who spoke about the importance of culture and investing in the skills of employees.
Johal also spoke about the ongoing political and economic uncertainty. Whilst he asserted that it was going to be very uncertain in the short term but if the UK continued to innovate and add value to their products and build on the strengths of its economy and its role in world affairs, the future was still very bright. He spoke about the need to assert leadership and more critically to involve the voice of business during the Brexit negotiations.
2019 Award winners:
Business Start-up – Fluoro Tech Ltd
Community Excellence – James Wong
Business Person of the Year – Jaya Nayyar
Entrepreneur of the Year – Mark O Sullivan
Businesswoman of the Year – Farhana Sheikh and Amina Hussain
International Enterprise and Innovation – Bowman Stor
Diversity and Inclusion – Barclays
Promoting Apprenticeships in the Workplace – In Comm Training
SME of the Year – Dunton Group
Customer Service of the Year – Lakeside Active Health Club
Business of the Year – TPL Media
Lifetime Achievement Award – Stewart Towe
