Proud of the outstanding effort and energy put in to keep Birmingham’s economy afloat during these unprecedented times, the will showcase the phenomenal work of our local business industry.
The Covid Defiance Award celebrates the businesses that have shown their ability to adapt to new and difficult situations. Whether the company has taken the pandemic as a chance to innovate, expanded despite the circumstances, or persevered in another way, there are businesses across Birmingham who have not only survived the turbulent times, but have grown as well.
The online awards ceremony takes place on Tuesday June 15 - Please email nikki.kandola@reachplc.com for more information and to learn about sponsorship opportunities. The ceremony will be hosted on our new virtual events platform The Awards Room which gives nominees and sponsors the chance to experience real-time networking, with guests grouped together on their own tables. Follow the hashtag #BPBAwards for updates on social media. |
Here are your Covid Defiance Award finalists for the :
24-7 Locks
24-7 Locks was established in 2011 and has gone on to become a leading provider of solutions to victims of domestic and sexual violence. It seeks to improve physical security while also creating a feeling of added safety that enables victims to remain in their own homes.
With domestic violence victims at greater risk during the lockdowns and the work being on behalf of local authorities, the business continued the essential service with added appropriate precautions and staff were classed as key workers.
The Home Office made funding available for the 'Safer Streets' scheme, aimed at improving household security. Given the company's long experience in this work and regardless of the heavy investment it would require, it took the risk and expanded for the betterment of the community. More staff were hired from the Birmingham and West Midlands region, a new premises and more vehicles from a Birmingham based supplier were acquired, alongside negotiating hugely increased stock levels and organising a logistically effective service delivery plan.
The company achieved the security assessments and fit upgrades at approximately 4,000 homes in the time frame set out by the Home Office.
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Benbow Steels
Benbow Steels is a colour-coated steel stockholder established in 2006 and based in West Bromwich. As an independent business, it has built strong relationships with both of the industry’s leading suppliers: Arcelor and Tata, but also has excellent relationships with other local and international suppliers and so has access to the largest choice of stock available in the 海角视频.
The business had many plans in 2020 to expand and grow the company. After careful and steady decision making with staff backing, the company decided to invest in the business regardless of the difficult times. The company maintained its reputation for excellent service and customers didn’t feel any negative impact of the changes.
It took over the factory next door to increase floor space by 75% and ordered a new blanking line to increase manufacturing capacity by 100%. Regardless of supplier issues, it was able to install the equipment and expand stock amongst other developments.
Over the course of the year, the business increased its staff on the shop floor by 80% and took on the unique challenges involved in training during the pandemic. As the old offices didn't give staff sufficient space to feel Covid safe and secure, the business knocked down and rebuilt them to provide a much more professional and comfortable environment to work in.
During 2019, Benbow Steels has been designing a new end-to-end ERP system that had been intended to go live in 2020. The new system meant that business processes could be much more flexible and staff would have visibility of and access to orders and customers whilst working from home. To combat difficulties with training due to restrictions, it ran virtual training sessions to give every member of the team the necessary knowledge.
BMet College
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BMet College is an education college and training provider with campuses based in Birmingham City Centre, Great Barr and Sutton Coldfield. With specialist areas in manufacturing, engineering, professional services and more, it welcomes more than 12,000 students a year from aged 16 upwards.
Heavily impacted by Covid-19, BMet College pivoted all of its services in ways that have challenged but ultimately grown the organisation. Its Covid Management Response structure ensured constant and efficient communication to staff, students, clients and stakeholders.
In March 2020, all learning had to be transferred online, including full-time programmes and vocational apprenticeships. The organisation issued more than 500 additional laptops and equipment to students alongside ensuring all staff had the necessary work-from-home resources. It worked with hundreds of organisations to provide students with employer engagement activities and provided online open days and enrolment.
The team worked exceptionally hard to support student safety and wellbeing. This included investing in “Togetherall” to meet the needs of the rising mental health crisis and paying learners weekly meal awards even during holiday periods.
Existing issues with high unemployment amongst BAME groups, over-concentration of people in low-paid insecure jobs and low levels of qualifications and skills have all been exacerbated due to the pandemic. BMet adapted its business planning and stakeholder engagement model to be able to review the courses and training to meet the regional economic needs.
The traditional timetabling and daily structure was reassessed to allow safe reentry into the college. It offered a mass testing service, recruiting an training 57 testing centre staff, creating 25 testing bays across three sites, building an appointment app, alongside carrying out more than 10,000 tests.
Edgbaston Stadium
Edgbaston Stadium is one of the leading venues in world cricket and has been the home of Warwickshire County Cricket Club since 1885. Following a £32 million stadium redevelopment in 2011, it now boasts world-class facilities that provide an unrivalled match day experience, alongside becoming one of the leading conference and events venues in the West Midlands.
Edgbaston was forced to close its doors at the beginning of the pandemic but since then staff have adapted operations to ensure the stadium could play an enhanced role in the community response to the pandemic alongside creating revenue.
The on-site car park was utilised as a national drive-through Covid-19 Testing Centre and the Exhibition Hall was transformed into a food sorting and distribution centre. Partnering with Thrive Together Birmingham, 35 staff from the stadium volunteered more than 720 hours to store and repackage 16.4 tonnes of food; delivering £51,500 worth of goods to 20 local organisations.
The foundation and charity then turned to the Toys4Birmingham campaign, receiving an excess of 16,500 toys to help those struggling to buy presents for their children. More recently, the Exhibition Hall has been transformed into an NHS Covid-19 Vaccination Centre.
Staff raised more than £6,500 for Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity and the NSPCC’s Childline service in Birmingham. In addition, the foundation raised funds through selling NHS-inspired t-shirts and contributing to an online charity cricket auction.
As Edgbaston was unable to welcome fans into the ground, it invested in a long-term, live stream service, known as Bears Den TV. There were two operated, roaming cameras that followed players and the ball, plus the ability to show instant action replays and commentary. This service helped retain commercial partnerships incomes.
To boost the spirits of club members, both Warwickshire teams made more than 260 phone calls to converse with supporters and sent more than 50 birthday video messages to young fans. Coach Jack Murfin and nutrition consultant Olivia Barnes released home workouts and recipes for ten weeks.
The Binding Site
The Binding Site was founded in 1986 by a group of former researchers based at the University of Birmingham. It is recognised as a market leader in the research, development, manufacture and distribution of products used for the detection of cancers and immune disorders. With a direct presence or sales through business partners in more than 100 countries, it employs more than 1,100 people worldwide, with more than 730 based at its flagship headquarters in Birmingham.
Together with the University of Birmingham, the company began research and development on an antibody test. It was able to develop and launch a high-quality test that was medically relevant and highly accurate in record time, completing it in four months as opposed to the usual 18 months.
The company continued to run a successful apprenticeship programme, with 11 graduates who have secured roles in the business, and more than 300 employees were provided a full home office IT support package.
With the move to online, it adopted more digital campaigns and delivered scientific training webinars. After opening offices in China, it had to combat unprecedented challenges in supporting and training customers. The company found an innovative solution: creating a remote training programme using both augmented reality software and webcams to guide customers.
All areas of the business adapted to support the manufacturing sector of the company, with nearly 25% of the workforce having to self-isolate. To maintain staff wellbeing, the CEO sent daily communications to all employees and it increased its mental health first aid team to 26. It made sure to support its two long-standing local charities Cure Leukaemia and Edward’s Trust, both of whom were finding funding challenging during the pandemic.
The full list of 2021 categories and sponsors is:
- New Business of the Year - sponsored by
- Small Business of the Year
- Manufacturing Business of the Year - sponsored by
- Covid Defiance Award
- Professional Services Firm of the Year
- Property and Construction Business of the Year
- Third Sector Organisation of the Year - sponsored by
- CSR Project of the Year - sponsored by
- International Trade and Export Award
- Young Businessperson of the Year
- Company of the Year (chosen from the category winners) - sponsored by