Yorkshire businesses recognised in 2021 Queen’s Awards

Various people from Sewell Group celebrating its Queens Award inc Dr Paul Sewell OBE third from left

16 businesses from across Yorkshire have been given a Queen’s Award for Enterprise this year.

The awards which recognise innovation, international trade, sustainable development and promoting opportunity through social mobility have highlighted the work of a range of businesses across the region.

Over half of those businesses to receive an award were in Yorkshire were in the category of international trade, representing the role the region plays in a global economy. Acclaimed video game developer and publisher.

Team-17 was one of the recipients of The Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade, which the firm’s 30 years of international trade, something the business has been doing for over three decades.

Team17 chief executive Debbie Bestwick

Debbie Bestwick MBE, Chief Executive Officer, Team17, said: “It’s an honour for Team17 to be recognised by Her Majesty and to be a recipient of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade. In 2020, we celebrated 30 years since Team17 was first established; during that time we’ve become known for encapsulating the spirit of independent games around the world, from our early successes like Alien Breed to our beloved Worms franchise, and over more recent years for our award-winning efforts as an independent games label for globally popular games including Overcooked!, Blasphemous, Hell Let Loose, and dozens more.

“Receiving The Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade is humbling recognition of those efforts, and further adds to our determination to build upon our success in the years ahead.”

Bluefin trading sells numerous products including paddleboards

Also recognised for their work internationally was Bluefin Trading, a Hebden Bridge-based e-commerce business which has built a team that employs 40 people operates from West-Yorkshire, Barcelona, Vancouver and East Asia with a focus on supplying products like exercise and wellbeing equipment to kayaks and paddleboards.

Will Vaughan, Founder of Bluefin Trading said: “International trade and export has always been at the very core of what our company offers, and I couldn’t be prouder that we’ve been awarded the Queen’s Award in this area. It’s an incredible achievement for the business, and a complete testament to the whole team’s hard work and dedication here at Bluefin.”

Other businesses to receive an award in this category include: Barnsley-based Naylor Clayware, Kore Systems, Imeast, OSL Cutting Technologies and EthOss Regeneration Ltd.

A third of Yorkshire’s businesses to receive a Queens Award were for the category of innovation, including manufacturer Aesseal which was recognised for its performance over the last five years. Also included on that list were fellow Rotherham-based medical device company Marsden Weighing Machine, High Seat Holdings and its subsidiaries and natural health company Better You which specialises in supplements.

Gillian Taylor, inventor with the Patient Transfer Scale developed by Marsden

Marsden’s award comes after the firm developed a unique Patient Transfer Scale, which is used to provide accurate weight measurements when a patient is admitted to hospital. Launched in 2018, today, the Marsden Patient Transfer Scale is used in 65% of all NHS Trusts across the UK and also sold worldwide. The brain child of Gillian Taylor who is a nurse and clinical consultant, who noted the need for an accurate way to measure weight in hospitals. She went on to design a prototype which was later refined by Marsden before securing relevant certification.

Mark Holdaway, chief executive officer, Marsden, said: “Marsden has a long history of innovation in the healthcare sector and when we were approached with the original idea, we knew it could potentially be a product which would change the way in which patients were treated across the world.

“The invention is a genuine first for the healthcare industry and a product which will clearly help to save lives, abide with NICE guidelines and ensure better patient outcomes are achieved. The success the product has enjoyed is a testament to the hard work, determination and passion which has driven the development of the product, one which was borne from the idea of an experienced nurse, who understood the challenges and limitations of existing solutions and was determined to do something about it. I’m thrilled that our collective work has resulted in a Queen’s Award, but of course, we’re keen not to rest on our laurels and we hope to ensure that even more hospitals and healthcare providers will be able to benefit from this truly unique product.”

In the other categories only 18 businesses across the country were recipients this year of the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise for Promoting Opportunity Through Social Mobility, however four of those winners were from Yorkshire including Sewell Group.

The Hull-based firm was recognised for its contribution to the region through its many initiatives to employ local people and invest in developing talent, as well as giving back to communities and supporting the regional economy, through commissioning the local supply chain.

Dr Paul Sewell OBE, chair of Sewell Group, said: “Our vision has always been to be a successful company that endeavours to make a difference to the areas in which we work – to become a great company to deal with, we have great people working with us.

“By investing in the development and training of our people, and taking on trainees, apprentices and graduates, we’ve created an extremely talented workforce. We employ ethical people who want to make a difference to local communities and we invest our time and effort into projects that are going to make a difference to local people.

“To receive this award from Her Majesty the Queen is a huge honour and I’m incredibly proud of our teams. Promoting opportunity is exactly what we’re about and what we do as a company; we’re successful because we provide opportunities, both within the company and the community.”

The final award winner from Yorkshire was in the category of Sustainable Development and went to Leeds-based charity Phoenix Health and Wellbeing which provides massage, acupuncture and counselling support to local people. Employing just three people it generates profits from its consultations which enable its charitable fund to provide free or subsidised support sessions for people who have chronic health issues and low incomes. The judges commended it for the level of impact it has given its small size and on its response to the pandemic which saw it give online sessions, podcasts and reaching out to the lonely or isolated.

Now in its 55th year, the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious business awards in the country, with winning businesses able to use the esteemed Queen’s Awards emblem for the next five years.

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