This year's Queen’s Awards for Enterprise winners have been announced, with 13 Scottish companies and an Italian company based in Edinburgh being awarded for innovation, international trade and sustainable development.
The awards are for outstanding achievement by UK businesses in the categories of innovation, international trade, sustainable development and promoting opportunity through social mobility.
Winners will be invited to a Royal reception, presented with the award by one of The Queen’s representatives, are able to fly The Queen’s Awards flag at their main office and use the emblem on marketing materials, plus they will all be given a Grant of Appointment and commemorative crystal trophy.
The awards are valid for five years.
They were created following the recommendation of a committee chaired by The Duke of Edinburgh in 1965. The first awards, originally known as the Queen’s Awards to Industry, were made the following year.
Small Business Minister, Paul Scully, said: “The Edinburgh Remakery is serving as an inspiration to businesses across the UK with the way in which it is championing sustainability.
“I commend all of this year’s winners for their commitment to producing innovative products and serving the wider community and wish them every success in their future endeavours.”
UK Government Minister for Scotland Iain Stewart said: “From TEFL Scotland equipping tutors to teach English from their base in Inverness to the Bladnoch independent distillery making world-class whisky in Dumfries and Galloway, these firms showcase the excellence Scottish business is renowned for.
“I’d like to congratulate all the winners of this most prestigious award. Their innovation, contribution to sustainable development and achievements in trade prove once again that Scotland is a major player on the global business stage.”
The Edinburgh Remakery - Sustainable Development
The Edinburgh Remakery, is an environmental social enterprise, founded in 2016, with seven employees. The company teaches and adopts sustainable practices around repair and reuse to reduce pollution and carbon emissions.
It runs workshops to teach sustainable reuse and repair skills, creates ways for businesses and members of the public to pass on their end-of-life electronic equipment, repairs, refurbishes and sells or donates second hand electronics particularly to people in need to tackle inequality and also provides green jobs and training.
It wins the Queen's Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development because it has demonstrated resilience and agility in dealing with the pandemic, both by refocusing its strategy but also by ramping up initiatives to meet the needs of the local community.
Elaine Brown, chief executive of the Leith-based business, said: ”We’re delighted to receive this recognition for our work in sustainability, and it is a great testament to the role of social enterprises in creating positive change in our communities."
AES Solar - Sustainable Development
AES Solar was founded by Lyle Schnadt in 1979 based in Forres, Moray to develop solar thermal products for the Findhorn Foundation ecovillage.
It has 22 employees and over around £2m a year. It subsequently produced solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and has 5% of both the UK solar thermal market and the Scottish microgeneration solar PV market.
AES Solar has helped to reduce carbon both through installation of its solar thermal and PV thermal products, and through reducing the impact of the company including manufacturing.
Calnex Solutions for International Trade and Innovation
West Lothian-based Calnex Solutions was established in 2006 and won the Queen's Award for International Trade in 2015. It designs test and measurement solutions comprising proprietary hardware and software which it manufactures in the UK and sells globally to telecommunications network equipment manufacturers and network operators, in particular, mobile networks.
Overseas sales over three years have increased by 81% and now account for 97% of all sales.
Currently its top markets are USA, China, India, Japan and Taiwan and recently the company entered new markets in Ireland, Slovenia and Latvia.
It was awarded the Queen's Award for International Trade for outstanding short term growth in overseas sales over the last three years.
The innovation award was also awarded to Calnex Solutions for its Paragon Neo product, which enables performance validation of the critical infrastructure associated with 5G telecoms networks.
The innovations overcame previous limitations in the clocking speeds of electronic components and enabled sub-nanosecond time error measurement accuracy.
Paragon Neo is the only test solution on the market that can be used to qualify the timing performance of products to the latest standards laid down by the International Telecommunication Union and is enabling the roll out of 5G mobile network equipment.
Tommy Cook, chief executive at Clanex Solutions, said: “We are honoured to receive two such prestigious awards, in Innovation and International Trade, and Calnex is proud to be representing Scottish innovation globally. The significance of the Queen’s Award is known worldwide and being awarded this accolade twice in one year is an indication of the good progress we have made over the past few years. During this time we have successfully become a public company and continued to invest in the growth of the Company and the development of our team and these awards are a testament to the dedication and expertise of our staff and quality of our expanding offering. Britain has always been at the forefront of innovation across the telecommunications sector and these awards further validate our leading position in the marketplace."
IQA Operations Group - International Trade
IQA Operations Group began trading in 2002 and is based in Glasgow, it is a contractor specialising in designing, building, maintaining and upgrading multi utility networks, telecom and electrical infrastructure for both the public and private sector and for distribution network operators.
It now employs more than300 people in the electrical, telecommunications and multi-utility markets. The company’s international work started in 2018 with a project in close association with its Group Company in Angola on the repowering and expansion of the Viana substation and the Gabela substation.
Over the three years to December 2020 overseas sales on these projects have grown by 333% contributing over a third of all sales. It won the Queen’s Award for International Trade for outstanding short term growth in overseas sales over the last three years.
John Lawrie Tubulars - Sustainable Development
John Lawrie Group, the parent company, is an industrial metals reuse, repurpose and recycling specialist, based in Scotland.
In 2019, it launched John Lawrie Tubulars as part of a group reorganisation. It focuses on the purchase and repurposing of oil and gas tubulars direct from operators, for use as piling by the construction industry.
It is based in Montrose and has 24 employees. John Lawrie Tubulars is awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development as it demonstrated a measured and positive impact to the circular economy, specifically operating in a challenging environment and industry.
Phil Mac Associates - International Trade
Phil Mac Associates, which trades as AgbioInvestor launched in 2017 and is based in Midlothian.
AgbioInvestor provides market intelligence and analysis using online subscription-based products and bespoke reporting.
The company demonstrated agility and innovation in response to the challenges presented by the pandemic and grew its team during lockdown. Overseas sales have grown by 78% over the three-year application period and the proportion of sales exported in the final year was 93% of total sales. The company won the Queen’s Award for International Trade for outstanding short term growth in overseas sales over the last three years.
Maritime Developments - International Trade
Maritime Developments is based in Westhill, Aberdeenshire and has been trading since 1999. It operates in the energy industry, particularly in the subsea sector, delivering equipment and services for handling cables and flexible products.
Overseas sales grew 192% in the six-year period with top markets including Norway, China, Angola, India and the Netherlands.
It won the Queen’s Award for International Trade for outstanding continuous growth in overseas sales over the last six years.
Bladnoch Distillery - International Trade
Bladnoch Distillery started trading in 2015 and is based in Dumfries and Galloway. It is the fourth largest independently owned Scotch Whisky distillery. The Bladnoch relaunch strategy was in two key markets, the UK with a national distributor, and in Australia, then European markets and the most important global Scotch Whisky export markets. Bladnoch now distributes to more than 50 markets, through a network of distributors.
Overseas sales have grown by 140% over the three-year application period and in the final year of application 45% of total sales was exported. The company won the Queen’s Award for International Trade for outstanding short-term growth in overseas sales over the last three years.
WoodBlocX - International Trade
WoodBlocX started in 2012 and is based in Dingwall. WoodBlocX designs, manufactures a unique, patented, modular system of wooden blocks that can be used to build almost any structure in a garden including raised beds, planters, retaining walls, ponds, edging, seats and more.
Products are sold online in the UK, France and Germany, covering a total of 12 territories across Europe.
Overseas sales have grown by 433% over the three-year application period and the proportion of sales exported has increased to 26% of total sales. The company won the Queen’s Award for International Trade for Outstanding Short-Term Growth in overseas sales over the last three years.
TEFL Org- International Trade
Inverness based TEFL Org was founded in 2008 to train people how to teach English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). It trains more than 20,000 people per year internationally, online, virtually, in a classroom or blended. In-house developed courses are delivered through a single website, primarily B2C.
Annual overseas sales grew by 386% in three years, increasing the proportion of overseas sales from 16% to 49%. In 2020 the company sold courses into 154 countries. Its market share in North America grew from 0.2% in 2017 to 22.5% in 2021 and Europe from 0.7% to 52.7% based on its share of web traffic.
The company won the Queen’s Award for International Trade for Outstanding Short Term Growth in overseas sales over the last three years.
Healthy Nibbles - Sustainable Development
Healthy Nibbles was established in Edinburgh in 2013. It has seven employees and it sells healthy snacks and grazing boxes for vending machines and other outlets.
Healthy Nibbles is awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development due to it combining a wide range of initiatives that tackle suppliers, products, and the direct impact of the company into a programme that is more than the sum of its parts with a commendable commitment to transparency.
Kaseum Technology - Innovation
Formed in 2017, Kaseum Technology, based in Aberdeen, is a specialist design and manufacturing company producing a range of well intervention tools for the oil and gas industry.
The company has developed K-Set, an innovative electro-mechanical downhole power delivery system. The product applies a controlled linear force using an electro-mechanical drive train and a unique, single use combined electronics and power pack (the PCM).
The product removes the need for explosives and the associated supply chain and safety problems. K-set has failed in use only three times in 4,000 (0.075%) downhole implementations compared to a 3% failure rate of explosive plug setting. For the first time, the tool also enables data recording of the effectiveness of plug setting thanks to the electronic system.
Nairn's Oatcakes - International Trade
Nairn's Oatcakes Ltd was founded in 1896, and was bought by its current owners in 1996. Based in Edinburgh, Nairn’s is the UK’s largest producer of oatcakes, sweet biscuits, crackers, flatbreads, cereals and snacks.
Europe and the USA are its main markets with 75% of exports, with other markets in the Middle East, Far East, Australasia and South Africa.
Overseas sales have grown by 57% over the three-year application period and the proportion of sales exported has increased to 14% of total sales.
The company won the Queen’s Award for International Trade for outstanding short-term growth in overseas sales over the last three years.
Leonardo - Innovation
The Edinburgh based aerospace and defence company was awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for Innovation for technology that makes aircrew and soldiers feel safer when they have to fly into danger zones.
The Innovation Award category acknowledges the ingenuity of Leonardo’s infrared countermeasure (IRCM) technology, which protects aircraft against heat-seeking missiles.
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