Five pick up Queen’s Award prizes for innovation
FIVE firms from across the North West have landed Queen’s Awards for business innovations.
Hurst Green Plastics, based at Whalley near Clitheroe, gained a prize for its TwinBin concept, which is an inventory management system that keeps production lines moving.
The Twinbin is a two-chamber container that carries an amount of reserve stock. Once the main chamber empties, the reserve stock is used and an RFID chip automatically triggers replacements.
The company has said it allows firms to reduce stoppages caused by stocks running out as well as allowing comanies to reduce the amount of stock they carry.
Warrington-based ICC Solutions has also gained an Innovation award for software-based test tools that certify Chip and PIN transactions. Tools the size of bank cards are inserted into a reader to gather information from them which can then be quickly uploaded.
Chester-based Intetech won an award for its Intetech Well Integrity Toolkit (iWIT), which is a software programme that uses data on flows to evaluate the condition of oil & gas wells, while Leigh-based Niche Products gained recognition for a range of environmentally-friendly, high-performance hydraulic fluids used in subsea wells.
The other innovation award was for Trafford-based Tenmat and its range of FIREFLY products, which expand rapidly under high heat to seal wall cavities and prevent the spread of fire through buildings.
Meanwhile, the Manchester-based Co-operative Group picked up an award for sustainable development, while the head of economic development company Regenerate Pennine Lancashire has been given the Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion.
The Co-operative Group has previously won a Queen’s Award for Sustainable Development, but this was in recognition of a series of more recent commitments such as the banking arm’s ethical investment policies, a responsible fish sourcing policy put in place in its food business and group efforts in reducing waste and greenhouse gases.
Mr Hoyle’s award for enterprise promotion comes after a 30-year career promoting economic development and enterprise in local and regional government structures across the region.
As head of Regenerate Pennine Lancashire, he recently spearheaded a successful £7.5m Regional Growth Fund bid for the area.
Mike Damms, chief executive of the East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, said “I have known Steve for many years and have shared a similar passion for enterprise. He not only feels that this could be a better place, he has done something about it.”
Dennis Mendoros, chairman of Pennine Lancashire and chief executive of aerospace firm Euravia said: “Steve is well respected as someone who can bridge the gap between the public and private sector, offering valuable knowledge and skills to help business to grow.”
“I am confident that even in these uncertain times, under Steve’s stewardship, businesses will continue to receive the support they need to start, innovate and grow; to deliver a lasting change to the enterprise culture of the area.”
