15 Yorkshire companies win Queen's Award for Enterprise

15 companies from around Yorkshire have been listed among the country’s best after picking up Queen’s Awards for Enterprise.

Firms including BetterYou, Bluefin Trading and OSL Cutting Technologies were among the winners as Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng hailed the resilience of the region’s business community during the challenges of the Covid outbreak.

Winners were selected in four categories with firms praised for innovation, boosting international trade, sustainable development and promoting opportunity through social mobility.

Mr Kwarteng said: “The past year has been a tough time for many businesses across the ��Ƶ, which is why it is more important than ever to celebrate the achievements of our wealth creators and recognise the contributions they make to our communities.

“In the last 12 months, British businesses showed the entrepreneurial spirit that this country is renowned for, continuing to drive social mobility, find new markets to export to and produce innovative products and services.

“I congratulate this year’s winners and I wish every business that applied for an award this year every success in the future as we build back better from the pandemic.”

Barnsley-based natural health brand, BetterYou , has been recognised for its innovation.

A range of BetterYou products. (Image: BetterYou)

The company, which specialises in pill-free nutritional supplements, has developed a pioneering oral spray delivery method for supplementation – an effective and convenient alternative to traditional tablets and capsules.

Andrew Thomas, founder and chief executive, said: “Innovation is a cornerstone of the BetterYou brand, so there really is no greater feeling than to receive the Innovation Award of the highest order in ��Ƶ business.

“To be amongst the few, elite businesses in the region that have been recognised as 2021 winners is incredibly humbling. I have coveted the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise for many years and can honestly say this truly is a special moment both for myself and the entire team.”

Another medical success story is EthOss Regeneration Ltd of Silsden, near Skipton.

Founded by two world-leading dental implantology experts, Dr Peter Fairbairn and Dr Paul Harrison, in 2013, they created a product that changed the dental bone grafting market.

Dr Harrison, managing director, said: “We’re incredibly proud to have been recognised. Exports now account for 58% of our total turnover. We recently signed partnerships with distributors in France, Turkey, Chile, Kuwait, Latvia and Moldova, with EthOss now being sold in more than 45 countries worldwide.

“The continued hard work of our team has seen us continue to grow year on year, and we’re extremely honoured that this has been celebrated with such a renowned and well-respected award.”

Bluefin Trading Ltd, honoured with a Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2021, said it was delighted to win what is seen as the highest official accolade in recognising business success.

Bluefin has made it onto the Sunday Times Fast Track list of the ��Ƶ's fastest growing private companies (Image: Bluefin)

Based in Hebden Bridge, the e-commerce firm was founded in 2013 by managing director Will Vaughan, 30, and Charlotte Smith, 29, and sells exercise equipment and portable fridges online.

Mr Vaughan 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.”

The founder of Brighouse based Lattitude7 said the firm has worked hard to support the disadvantaged, especially in the Calderdale community - and winning an award for enterprise its testament to the team.

The firm, winner of an Enterprise award for promoting opportunity through social mobility was set up by Dr Martin Haigh 10 years ago and now has three staff and 16 associates, providing training in personal development, teamwork, leadership, and business improvement.

Dr Haigh said: “To have achieved the highest recognition possible for any British business is just amazing and a real testament to the collective effort of the team and our supporters. It will give us a morale boost, especially during these challenging times and has improved our confidence and sense of pride.

“The award provides our company with independent validation as being not only a business that can prosper in a commercial marketplace but also provides important social value for people in the local community.”

Community Shop , part of Company Shop Group, is a community interest company based in South Yorkshire that aims to ‘build stronger individuals and confident communities’ through its outlets.

The first store opened in 2013, with five more following, providing discounted food and community hubs. Its Success Plan helps people to ‘identify their assets’ and the barriers they experience.

Steph McGinty, group managing director of Company Shop Group said: “Community Shop’s achievement today is testament to the hard-work, dedication and constant innovation of our amazing colleagues, the many organisations and supporters we work closely with every day, as well as our generous and long-standing industry partners.

“With this support, we are able to deliver the best outcomes for the thousands of individuals and families we support across the ��Ƶ.

Another recipient in the promoting opportunity category is Incommunities Group Ltd, a Bradford-based housing association.

In 2017 the 20-year-old company established an employability team that supports people into sustainable employment through a bespoke programme of training and personal development.

C-Kore Systems Ltd has been awarded a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the international trade category.

Tim Overfield receiving the Queen's Award for Enterprise (Innovation) from David Kerfoot MBE DL in 2019 (Image: Unknown)

The company specialises in making subsea tools that can be used to find faults in underwater systems or when constructing or decommissioning projects offshore. This is the second Queen’s Award the company has received after receiving its first in 2019.

Tim Overfield, managing director of C-Kore, said: “This is C-Kore’s second Queen’s Award for Enterprise in three years and a true acknowledgement of how far the business has come.

“In 2019 it was for innovation, which recognised how innovative our subsea testing products are. From this news spread globally and we are changing industry practice on how subsea testing is conducted, so much so that we saw an increase in international trade of over 600%. And this year this effort has been recognised with a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade.”

Rotherham-headquartered mechanical seal manufacturer AESSEAL has received a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the innovation category after making seals vital for the manufacturing of vaccines.

The company’s seals are needed to avoid products being contaminated during the manufacturing process and are used in a number of complex industrial operations, including making vaccines.

Chris Rea, AESSEAL’s managing director and founder, said: “Without a shadow of doubt a Queen’s Award for Industry is the greatest single honour that can be bestowed on a business and the value to the morale and motivation of myself and my colleagues is incalculable.

“Part of our drive for excellence has been the motivation to be able to fly a Queen’s Award for Enterprise flag continuously since 1989 and now we will have the right and privilege to be able to do so for the next five years.”

OSL Cutting Technologies is another Yorkshire business that has won an award for its work competing on the international stage.

OSL Cutting Technologies CEO Mathew Grey (Image: OSL Cutting Technologies)

The group, which was founded in 2001 and owns a number of brands, specialises in hole cutting machinery and its clients span a number of major sectors including engineering, rail, automotive and the security sector.

Mathew Grey, OSL Cutting Technologies CEO, said: “We are extremely proud to have won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise. Having a prestigious award behind us as we represent Sheffield in international markets will help us to grow our footprint and drive us to higher levels of excellence.

“OSL is further proof that Sheffield manufacturing businesses can outperform international counterparts in their home markets as well as in our own.”

Pipe manufacturer Naylor Clayware has been honoured with a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the international trade category for its high-performance products which are used in demanding applications around the world.

The Barnsley business, a division of Naylor Industries plc and fourth generation family business, has been involved in clay pipe production since its foundation in 1890, but as the needs of the construction industry have evolved, the firm has diversified, developing systems for trenchless installation and handling hot or corrosive effluents.

Naylor CEO Edward Naylor, who has been running the business since 1993, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to receive this award.

“We’ve got a fantastic team: from long-servers with decades of experience through to young and enthusiastic apprentices and this really is a wonderful recognition of all their hard work over so many years.”

Independent games label, Team17 , receives the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for international trade.

Established in 1990, the firm has two games development studios – in Wakefield, Yorkshire and Salford, Greater Manchester – along with commercial offices in Nottingham, and is one of the most recognised developers and publishers in the global games industry, with a 110-plus portfolio of titles enjoyed by millions around the world.

Debbie Bestwick, chief executive officer, said: “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.”

Of the 205 organisations from across the ��Ƶ that have been personally chosen by HM The Queen to receive an award, Phoenix Health and Wellbein g is just one of 17 in the sustainable development category.

Based in Park Place, Leeds, Phoenix Health and Wellbeing is a registered charity that was set up in 2013 with the aim of providing wellbeing support to local people. Its staff, therapists and volunteers provide counselling, massage and acupuncture to people who have chronic health issues and low incomes. These people are referred to the service by medical and healthcare professionals.

Founder Gill Trevor said: “We are absolutely over the moon, this is an incredible honour and it will have a hugely beneficial impact on our social enterprise.

“It has already given us all an enormous morale boost.”

Professional services firm Primeast has won an award for its international sales growth over the last three years.

The Harrogate firm, which was founded in 1987, focuses on organisational consulting and enterprise learning and has a number of clients in the pharmaceutical, automotive, technology, oil and gas sectors.

Primeast now has clients in more than 40 countries around the world and over the last three years managed to grow its international sales by 60%, from £1.6m to £2.5m.

Its top markets are USA, Belgium, Germany, Brazil, and the Czech Republic.

Chair and sofa maker High Seat Holdings Limited (HSL) has won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the innovation category after designing a chair specifically designed for elderly consumers in need of mobility support.

The company has incorporated its own patented detachable knuckle, which is an ergonomically shaped wooden extension to the arms of the chair, which provides users with an extra point of leverage.

The unique design can be adapted as needed by the user and greatly improves the mobility of the user.

High Seat Holdings’ patent was granted in 2019.

Marsden Weighing Machine Group , of Rotherham, supplies medical weighing equipment and in 2018 the company launched an innovative product, the Patient Transfer Scale.

It won a Queen’s Award for innovation.

Chief executive Mark Holdaway 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.

“We felt the Patient Transfer Scale could act as a catalyst towards driving positive change within a healthcare environment. The need for healthcare professionals to obtain accurate weights is not only vital when it comes to delivering appropriate care, but helps to eliminate the guessing of patient weights in cases where traditional hoists cannot be used."

Hull's Sewell Group won an award for promoting opportunity through social mobility.