A cider manufacturer founded in the 1980s by the legendary late former Aston Villa chairman Sir Doug Ellis has been crowned the Birmingham Post Company of the Year.
Aston Manor Cider was started as a family firm and has since grown to become one of the 海角视频's largest independent manufacturers of the drink, counting brands such as Frosty Jack's and Kingstone Press among its portfolio.
And last night it was crowned the city region's top company at the 2019 Birmingham Post Business Awards at a gala ceremony at the ICC in front of hundreds of business and civic leaders.
Aston Manor Cider was chosen from 11 category champions to be named the overall winner after it was recognised for its environmental credentials by taking home the Green Business of the Year crown.
The company, which exports to more than 20 countries, wowed judges with its investment and innovation to make its plant in Aston as sustainable an operation as possible.
Its initiatives include saving tonnes of raw material through recycled packaging, planting more than 350,000 trees in the Midlands and committing to sending no waste to landfill by 2020.
Last year, the company was acquired by French agricultural co-operative Agrial a few months before Sir Doug died but the Ellis family name lives on as his grandson James works as the firm's chief financial officer.
The revamped awards also welcomed four new categories for 2019 to celebrate achievements in corporate social responsibility, hospitality, property and young businessperson for those under 30s achieving business excellence.
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Jamie Weall, head of compliance at Aston Manor Cider, said: "We are a business that produces a lot of plastic, something which has had a lot of negative media interest in recent years so we are very keen to try to minimise that impact within the environment.
"Financially, in terms of using recycled content within our plastic, it has cost us as a business but we're happy to pay that extra cost to make sure we minimise our impact.
"We are one of the only major alcohol manufacturers that actually uses recycled content within their plastic bottles and we've done a huge amount of other work related to our sustainability.
"We're very pleased to win the Green Award and did not expect at all to be named Company of the Year. The awards have been a fantastic evening."
He added: "Our new owners have been hugely supportive of us as a business.
"We are actually going to be investing in a new production line within Birmingham which our new owners are willing to spend millions of pounds on and there will definitely be significant numbers of new jobs created off the back of this."
Marc Reeves, editor-in-chief of Reach Midlands which publishes the Birmingham Post and BusinessLive, said: "Aston Manor Cider has been a stalwart of the city's manufacturing and business scene for decades and long may that continue under its new owners.
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"Following his sad passing last year, Sir Doug's legacy lives on in so many ways in Birmingham, not least of which is the vibrant factory Aston Manor Cider runs north of the city.
"With climate change and sustainability never far from the headlines these days, it's gratifying to see that a company striving so hard to reduce its impact on the environment can be recognised in this way. Congratulations to Aston Manor Cider and of course all of our winners."
The full list of winners at the 2019 Birmingham Post Business Awards is (and read this year's shortlist here):
Small Business of the Year, sponsored by HSBC 海角视频
Lightbox Digital
New Business of the Year, sponsored by Openreach
Digital Waffle
Manufacturing Business of the Year, sponsored by PwC
Power Minerals
Hospitality Business of the Year, sponsored by Birmingham Mail
Staying Cool at the Rotunda
Professional Services Firm of the Year, sponsored by Birmingham Post
Squire Patton Boggs
Property and Construction Business of the Year, sponsored by Reach Solutions
St Modwen
Third Sector Organisation of the Year, sponsored by BirminghamLive
Millennium Point
CSR Project of the Year, sponsored by Barclays
Willmott Dixon
Green Business of the Year, sponsored by BusinessLive
Aston Manor Cider
International Trade and Export Award, sponsored by Birmingham Airport
PM Connect
Young Businessperson of the Year, sponsored by Birmingham Metropolitan College
Thomas Wooldridge
Company of the Year, sponsored by Jaguar Land Rover
Aston Manor Cider
The awards were hosted by journalist and broadcaster Daisy McAndrew and welcomed Labour peer Lord Andrew Adonis, considered the architect of HS2, as keynote speaker.
Entertainment was provided by percussion group 海角视频 Drumline Ensemble and Acorns Children's Hospice was the charity partner, with proceeds from the evening going towards its £2 million Save Acorns Black Country Hospice Appeal.
This year's ceremony would not have been possible without the help and support of our wonderful sponsors and commercial partners: Barclays, Birmingham Airport, Birmingham Metropolitan College, BusinessLive, Fazenda, HSBC, ICC, Jaguar Land Rover, Openreach, Park Regis, PwC and Reach Solutions.
Please keep a check on our for updates on the Birmingham Post Business Awards 2020 and our other events including the which are still open for entries.