Yorkshire businesses crowned with Queen’s Awards

YORKSHIRE businesses have been crowned in this year’s Queen’s Awards for Enterprise.

The Businesses Secretary Sajid Javid named the 150 winners of the Queen’s Awards in the monarch’s 90th birthday year.

Yorkshire businesses which have won the coveted award include Gripple Ltd , a 242-strong wire joining manufacturer, which sells to more than 80 countries with a 15% global market share. The Sheffield firm has won the Queen’s Award for International Trade, during Exporting is GREAT week.

Ed Stubbs, managing director of Gripple, said: “Exporting is at the heart of our business and our success is testimony to the skills of our global teams and the support of our customers worldwide.”

The Camira Group Ltd which employs 91 staff in Mirfield and manufactures upholstery fabrics for commercial interiors and passenger transport was included, as were Leeds-based Xiros Ltd , a 100-strong manufacturer of minimally invasive textile-based medical implants, and Wooltex UK, based in Huddersfield, a manufacturer of office and seating markets.

Doncaster-based Polypipe , a FTSE 250 pipe manufacturing company with 1,878 staff, have been listed in the International Trade category as well as:

• GO Superfoods Ltd – 23 employees, Sheffield.
• Hull-based Bureau UK Recruitment Ltd, 11 staff – helps private and public sector organisations to source talent.
• Featherstone-based Icon Office Design, 26 staff – a designer and specialist manufacturer of screens for workplace environments employing 26 staff.
• Doncaster-based Highfield International Ltd, 197 staff – a supplier of compliance qualifications, training materials and e-learning solutions
• York-based Nitesite Ltd, 10 employees – This company specialises in night vision rifle scope adaptors for use on any rifle for hunting or pest control and based on a new type of night vision technology utilising infrared technology.
• Huddersfield-based Adare Group – has evolved from a UK print management company into a full service, global marketing communications outsourcing business.

Steve Ueckermann, managing director, Adare International, said: “This award is a result of the dedication, expertise and flexibility of our teams, both here in the UK, and overseas.

“Working together, we have established Adare International in every major global market and we are looking forward to further global expansion.

The nine Yorkshire and the Humber-based winners of the Queen’s Award for Innovation are:

• Beverley-based Crewshield Ltd – for Citadel, a self-contained, transportable, armoured safe haven, disguised as a standard ISO shipping container.
• Sheffield-based telematics firm The Floow , 36 staff – for the development of data collection and analysis capability for insurance companies, car makers and fleet operators.
• Sheffield-based 3Squared Ltd , 34 staff – for the development of software for sectors including transport, rail, construction, electronics, retail, manufacturing, health services and the public sector.
• Leeds-based Lhasa Limited, 91 staff – recognised for the development of a human knowledge-based expert system called Derek Nexus which delivers assessments of the potential toxicity of potential new chemical entities.
• Keighley-based Byworth Boilers Ltd, 81 staff – for Unity, a centralised control and management system for a boiler house. 
• Market Weighton-based SG Technical Systems Ltd – for the development of a powered, folding ambulance ramp with key patent protected features that improve the reliability and in-service time of the product.
• Rotherham-based AESSEAL plc, 10 staff – wins for developing a novel modular approach with standardized components, to deliver a step change in the supply chain for seal support systems. 
• Denby Dale-based The Body Doctor – for the development of the Eye Doctor, a hot eye compress for the relief of various eye conditions that can be heated in the microwave or oven and placed over a patient’s eyes to treat common conditions.
• Leeds-based Medisoft Ltd, 26 staff – for development of a software tool that solves manual record keeping problems in ophthalmology services.

Business Secretary Sajid Javid said: “The Queen’s Awards are a great way of celebrating the best of British business. Whether you’re a disruptive start-up making life easier for your customers or a large company with a blockbuster product, these awards recognise your contribution to enterprise.

“We are a country full of exciting and innovative businesses that deserve to be celebrated. I’d like to commend all the winners for their hard work in creating jobs for people and driving our growing economy.”