Queen’s Award success for NW businesses

A WORLD-renowned pannier maker and a pioneering renewable energy firm are among the North West winners of the prestigious Queen’s Awards for Enterprise 2014.

The Government-backed awards recognise excellence in international trade, innovation and sustainable development. Individuals have also been rewarded for inspiring entrepreneurship.

Across the UK some 162 businesses have been recognised this year, with 110 winning the award for international trade; 39 for innovation, and 13 for sustainable development.

The number of North West winners was up on last year at 18 compared to 13. Twelve were recognised for international trade, five for innovation and one for sustainable development. Salford’s High Voltage Partial Discharge was recognised for both international trade and innovation.

Winning companies attend a Buckingham Palace reception in July and can use the Queen’s Award emblem in advertising, marketing and on packaging for five years as a symbol of their quality and success.

International Trade award

Carradice of Nelson

A manufacturer of hand crafted cycle luggage, Carradice of Nelson has been trading since 1929. It has won the award after growing overseas earnings by 62% over the last three years. It has entered 10 new markets and diversified, producing ranges for other brands. It is positioned as a high quality, hand-crafted British-made brand. The company, which employs 22 staff, has broadened its market base, targeting and generating sales into growth markets including the Philippines and China.

Clarke Energy

Knowsley-based Clarke Energy supplies, engineers and maintains gas engine power plants. Overseas earnings have grown by 129% over the last six years and in recent years it has entered seven new markets including Nigeria, Bangladesh and Tanzania and it is in the process of investing in South Africa to strengthen its position in Africa. The company now employs 234 staff.

Contra Vision

Contra Vision invents, sells and licenses see-through window films. It has picked up the Queen’s Award after growing overseas sales earnings by 1,084% over the last six years and increasing exports as a percentage of total turnover from 35% to 80%. The Bramhall company employs 10 people and has 18 distributors located across the world from Europe to Australia.

Cygnet Group

Northwich–based engineering group Cygnet makes machinery to process technical fibres and fabrics for the automotive, aerospace and wind energy sectors. It has seen outstanding overseas sales growth over the last three years, during which it has seen overseas earnings growth of 255% and has almost doubled its number of employees to 97.

Managing director Matthew Kimpton-Smith, said: “It’s a tremendous achievement to receive such a high level of recognition for the hard work we have done globally. From senior managers to shop floor workers and our installation teams who represent us throughout the world, this award recognises the efforts of every member of our team.”

Extronics

Extronics manufactures explosion–proof electrical and electronic equipment. Over the past three years the Middlewich firm has increased exports as a percentage of turnover from 29% to 52%. It identified an opportunity to supply explosion proof digital cameras to the marine industry following the implementation of legislation that made it mandatory for cameras to be installed on any vessel carrying potential flammable cargo. Extronics also consciously targeted the oil and gas sector which accounts for more than 65% of total spend on hazardous area equipment.

High Voltage Partial Discharge

Salford–based electrical testing firm HVPD has won awards for international trade and innovation. Overseas sales have increased by 287% over the last three years, with exports rising from 80% of total turnover to 90%. The company now supplies over 300 customers in over 90 countries. It earned an award for innovation by developing a testing system for oil and gas facilities which provides early warning detection of insulation degradation and insulation faults in generators, motors, static plant and cables.

Managing director Dr Lee Renforth, Managing Director, said: “We are extremely proud of our success in the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise this year. It is truly rewarding that our work has been recognised through awards won in two categories, demonstrating our strengths across the business. Our success is inherently connected to our long-term philosophy of transferring knowledge to our customers by providing first‑class engineering support and expert advice to meet individual client’s needs and expectations. By taking an engineering-led approach we intend to continue to lead the partial discharge test and monitoring industry by excelling in the delivery of new applications for our technology.”

Innovative Technology

Oldham-based Innovative Technology supplies note validators and coin hoppers which are sourced primarily from overseas subsidiaries and sold globally. Its products can be used with 114 different currencies and it exports 90% of its total sales.

ParkCloud

ParkCloud, based in Stockport, operates an online car park reservation system. It has seen overseas earnings grow by 432% over the last three years. A web-based business with more than 100 sites in its network, it trades with 35 countries in 25 languages.

Smylie

Birkenhead-based Smylie exports British food and drink products. All of its business is from overseas and its leading export markets are UAE, Qatar, Hong Kong and Bahrain. It has recently entered North America and New Zealand and is in the process of developing the Chinese market with support from UK Trade & Investment (UKTI).

T.I.S.S.

T.I.S.S. manufactures devices to prevent fuel theft and spillage from all types of commercial vehicles. Over the last three years it has increased exports as a percentage of total sales from 13% to 41%. The Blackpool firm has established new markets in Turkey, UAE, Australia and Mexico. It manufactures in the UK and sells directly to OEMs and via a network of distributors.

Director Matthew Rose said: “This is a very proud moment for all at TISS and testimony to the hard work of the entire team over the past few years.  We know we have a market-leading product and it is fantastic to see our belief in the product recognised with such a prestigious award.”

Travel Counsellors

Travel Counsellors provides a personal travel service to customers and corporate clients. The Bolton firm has recorded continuous overseas sales growth. Over the last six years exports as a percentage of turnover have grown from 7% to 29%. Eight years into its international expansion, one-third of Travel Counsellors’ agents are now outside of the UK. South Africa is its biggest export sales market with 31% of export sales.

Founder and chairman David Speakman said: “This year we are also celebrating our 20th anniversary so it is fantastic to mark this with such a positive and prestigious recognition of how far we have come in this time. We have based our success on the foundations of integrity, care, trust and professionalism and a passionate desire to create a community of the very best in travel. We believe and have proved that there is a need for sincere and trusted advisers that place customer care at the centre of their businesses, which is why our model has really been embraced by the international markets we have expanded into.”

What More UK

What More UK is a manufacturer of plastic injection moulded products for the home, such as housewares, laundry, garden and food storage. The Burnley company took the decision to develop international business in 2008 after investment in further manufacturing capacity. It now exports to 40 countries.

Innovation award

Edina UK

Edina, based in Stockport, specialises in power generation equipment for the renewable energy sector. It has won the Innovation Award for the design and operation of anaerobic digesters of organic waste. In a statement the company said: The directors and staff of Edina are highly honoured to be awarded such a prestigious accolade which is seen as the highest endorsement of their dedication and professionalism to providing a sustainable solution to the worlds growing climate problems.”

Heat Trace

Heat Trace has been recognised for its development of self-regulating, electric heating cables. The cables are used for a range of applications including the heating of pipelines in refineries, process manufacturing plants and oil wells. The Frodsham firm has developed, and patented, a range of high temperature, high power, self-regulating heating cables which reduce their power output as the temperature increases and, as they cannot burn out, are safer than conventional heating cables.

Metalube

Irlam-based Metalube has won praise for inventing a synthetic grease to protect over-head electrical conductors. The latest generation of conductors, utilised worldwide in the power distribution industry, are made of advanced alloys, which operate at very high temperatures. The corrosion-preventing grease can operate at over 200 degrees centigrade.

Technical director Chris Nettleship said: “This is a great feather in our cap. To win the Queen’s Award once is a major achievement, but to win two years in a row is a superb honour. I am so proud of all our chemists who innovate on a daily basis.  It is fantastic that their hard work and technical expertise is now acknowledged by this esteemed recognition.”

NGF Europe

St Helens-based NGF Europe, a subsidiary of the Japanese glassmaker NSG, has won an innovation award for designing and manufacturing glass cords used to reinforce timing belts that can run in oil for the automotive industry. The world-leading and commercially successful products comprise hundreds of filaments of glass fibre, each coated with rubber latex. Using a novel dipping process involving specific chemicals, the filaments are chemically linked to provide high crack–resistance and tensile strength.

Sustainable development award

Recycling Lives

Recycling Lives in Preston has won a second Sustainable Development Award for its recycling and waste management services. Widely accredited for its environmental management, the company targets niche recycling markets, processing previously unrecyclable items, such as flat screen displays, and making working components available for resale where possible. The company’s nationwide Community Dotcom schemes, including SkipHireNetwork.org, OfficeClearanceNetwork.org and ScrapCarNetwork.org, enable charities and ethical businesses to deliver reuse and recycling services to householders across the country.

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