News Article

A record number of companies from across the UK, large and small, have been  named as winners of The Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2009 – Britain’s highest accolade for business success. They include ten winners in the North East – double last year’s Awards tally and the highest achieved by the region in recent years.

A total of 194 Queen’s Awards have been announced this year, the largest number awarded in 44 years of the scheme.   Before today, the record number of Awards made in a single year was 175 in 1990. 

Overall, 135 companies have won Awards for International Trade, 49 for Innovation and 10 for Sustainable Development.  In addition, 11 individuals have received The Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion (QAEP) for their inspiring efforts to encourage UK entrepreneurship – including two people from the North East.  The full list of winners can be found on the Queen’s Awards website (www.queensawards.org.uk) from 21 April 2009.

This year has seen the North East double last year’s tally of five Awards.  North East highlights include:

• Six Award winners in the International Trade category with sectors including passenger transport services and cranes. They include Arriva who has almost trebled oversea earnings over the six years prior to 2007;
• Three winners in the Innovation category with sectors including engineering and recycling. They include Tracerco, in Billingham, which has won Awards previously for International Trade in 2005 and Innovation in 2003. The latest Award recognises the company’s efforts in developing a range of portable radiation monitoring instruments for use in hazardous environments, particularly those having flammable and explosive atmospheres;
• One winner in the Sustainable Development category - Northumbrian Water Ltd for its “ongoing and impressive commitment to sustainability” particularly its “extremely impressive social and economic initiatives which elevate it to the status of sector leaders”.
• Two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise Promotion recipients, including one Lifetime Achievement award for Professor Allan Gibb OBE, former Director of the Small Business Centre at Durham University for the “profound contribution to enterprise education and enterprise support in the UK for more than 30 years”.

As ever with The Queen’s Awards, winning firms cover a vast range of business sectors including architecture and design, building and construction, motoring and transport, electronics and technology, manufacturing and engineering, law and finance, tourism and leisure, medical and pharmaceuticals, food and drink, oil and gas, media and marketing, metals, plastics and packaging, safety and surveillance, printing, recycling, logistics, utilities and more.  They range from enterprising small businesses with as few as two employees to household names such as BBC Worldwide Ltd, transport firm Arriva plc and fashion company Paul Smith Ltd.

Business Minister, Lord Mandelson, said:

 “I heartily congratulate all today’s winners of The Queen’s Awards.  These inspirational firms have proved they are amongst Britain’s very best businesses.  They are flying the flag for British enterprise, innovation and corporate responsibility, both here and abroad.  They have achieved the UK’s most prestigious standard of business excellence, and set the standard for other businesses to follow as they help lead Britain out of recession.”

The UK’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, HRH The Duke of York, said:

“I’m delighted to see so many companies applying for, and winning, The Queen’s Award for Enterprise this year.  Over the years, I’ve visited many Queen’s Award winning firms, and have seen first hand just what a boost this Award brings to their business and their employees.  My sincere congratulations to this year’s record haul of winners, and the individual recipients of The Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion, for their exceptional achievement in gaining this prestigious Award.” 

Minister for Trade & Investment, Lord Davies of Abersoch, said:

“A Queen’s Award for Enterprise is an internationally-recognised symbol of business success.  It is a standard that I believe all good businesses should aspire to.  Past International Trade winners consistently tell us how their Award has helped open new doors for their company overseas.  The fact that more firms than ever are now applying for The Queen’s Award shows what a remarkably valuable endorsement this Award continues to be around the world.”

Winners of The Queen’s Awards enjoy widespread publicity, a company visit by a Royal representative during the year to present a crystal bowl and a special reception at Buckingham Palace in July.  They are also entitled to use The Queen’s Award Emblem in advertising, marketing and on packaging for a period of five years as a symbol of their quality and success.

In a recent survey of 2008 Queen’s Award winners:

• 77% of winners reported the win had brought added commercial value to their business
• 73% of winners saw employee engagement rise
• 73% of winners gained extra press coverage
• 85% of winners said the impact of winning a Queen’s Award met or exceeded their expectations
• 57% of International Trade winners achieved increased recognition overseas

The full list of North East award winners can be found below:

THE QUEEN’S AWARDS FOR ENTERPRISE 2009: INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• Arriva plc - 1 Admiral Way, Doxford International Business Park, SUNDERLAND SR3 3XP
• Cleveland Cascades Limited - Unit 22 Dukesway, Teesside Industrial Estate, THORNABY, Stockton on Tees
• HVR International Ltd - Bede Industrial Estate, JARROW, Tyne & Wear NE32 3EN
• Liebherr Sunderland Works Ltd - Ayres Quay, Deptford Terrace,  SUNDERLAND SR4 6DD
• Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd - Sunderland Plant - Washington Road, , SUNDERLAND, Tyne and Wear SR5 3NS
• Torque Tension Systems Limited - 4 Wansbeck Business Park, Rotary Parkway, ASHINGTON, Northumberland

THE QUEEN’S AWARDS FOR ENTERPRISE 2009: INNOVATION

• Greenstar WES Limited - WES Building, Plastics Road, Wilton International, REDCAR, Cleveland TS10 4RG
• IHC Engineering Business Ltd - Broomhaugh House, RIDING MILL, Northumberland NE44 6EG
  Tracerco - Pavilion 11, Belasis Hall Technology Park, BILLINGHAM, Cleveland TS23 1LB

THE QUEEN’S AWARDS FOR ENTERPRISE 2009: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

• Northumbrian Water Ltd - Northumbria House, Abbey Road, Pity Me, Durham DH1 5FJ

 THE QUEEN’S AWARD FOR ENTERPRISE PROMOTION

• LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Professor Allan Gibb OBE
• Former Director, Small Business Centre, Durham University, Durham
• Mr David Irwin, Partner, Irwin Grayson Associates, Stocksfield, Northumberland

ENDS

For further press information please contact: Karen Bell at COI News & PR North East , TEL: 0191 202 3603; EMAIL: karen.bell@coi.gsi.gov.uk

ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE QUEEN’S AWARDS OFFICE BY KAREN BELL COI NEWS & PR NORTH EAST. TEL: 0191 202 3603; EMAIL; karen.bell@coi.gsi.gov.uk