This year’s winners of the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise have been announced, marking the contribution that SMEs make towards UK trade.
The awards were presented across four categories, including international trade, innovation, sustainable growth, and promoting opportunity.
Over 200 businesses have been recognised with the awards and 151 of this year’s winners are SMEs.
Winners in the innovation category included Bitrez in Wigan for its Bisphenol A -free resin used to coat food and drink cans and plastic baby drinking bottles.
Warwick Music’s pBone, the world’s first plastic trombone, which is now amongst the world’s bestselling trombones and NABrown innovative low cost moulding process using degraded recycled plastic to manufacture road sweeper brushes, have also won an award in the innovation category.
Geraint Lewis
QUEEN'S AWARDS
Queens Awards bowl
The award for the category of international trade is given to companies who demonstrate a substantial and sustained increase in export earnings over three consecutive 12-month periods.
Winners in this category included Leeson Polyurethanes in Warwick for the development, manufacturing and sale of formulated polyurethane adhesives, coatings, waterproofing and binders.
Meech International has also been awarded in this category for its electrostatic and contamination control systems for plastics, packaging, printing, automotive, food, medical and beverage sectors. As well as Melba Products in Bury who design and manufacture plastic moulded products, principally but not exclusively in traffic management.
Panel Graphic Limited Norwich Display enhancement solutions offering specialist materials and surface coatings improving the performance of plastics has also been highlighted.
Winners in all categories are invited to a royal reception at Buckingham Palace, while winners in the International Trade category are invited to a gala dinner hosted by the Institute of Export & International Trade. This year, the event is taking place at Fishmongers’ Hall on 25th September.
Greg Clark, the business secretary, said: “These awards recognise the innovative products and services being provided by British businesses that are in demand across the world, as well as the sheer determination and hard work that comes with starting and running a business.
“Many of these winners are small businesses — the backbone of our economy — and we are backing them to grow, increase their productivity and create more jobs and opportunity across the UK through our modern industrial strategy.”
Applications for the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise 2020 open on 1 May 2019 and close on 10 September 2019.