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Northern stars celebrate

Close to one thousand guests gathered at the AECC on September 24 to celebrate some of the brightest and best of North east business at this year’s Northern Star Business Awards 2009.

The prestigious event, now in its sixth year, is the flagship event of the Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce and celebrates the achievements of businesses from across all sectors of the business community.

The Craig Group took the Overall Business of the Year Award in the large business category, iicorr Ltd took the Overall Award in the medium business category and ASM came up trumps in the Overall Award in the small business category. The overall award reflects a company’s performance across all of the other categories.

Global shipping and energy services company, The Craig Group, has 75 years business experience and, rated as one of Scotland’s top 100 companies, has also been awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise. As a result of good customer service, repeat business accounts for around 70% of orders and many customers have been with the firm for over 20 years.

Medium business Award winner, iicorr Ltd saw their revenue growth almost doubled in 2008 compared to 2006/7, achieving a 45% year on year growth compared to 20/25% in the previous year. Most of the additional revenue came from existing customers.

ASM is a family-owned business, established in 1992 to provide a single-source solution for office design, fit-out and relocation. Over the last 12 months, the company saw turnover increase by over 10%, gross profit over this period was up 12%, but the most significant increase was in net profit, which soared 11-fold.

Winner of the coveted Woman of the Year Award was Tracey Devine, owner of Angels Hair Design. Tracey has also secured the title of Scottish Hairdresser of the Year at the British Hairdressing Awards for the last three years in a row.

Also hotly contested was this year’s Rising Star Award which went to James Gregg, Deputy Operations Manager at ACE Winches. James won the award for showing outstanding potential and is proven to have made a major impact and contribution within the company.

Rising Stars of the future also had their say in the Student Placement Award which was won by NHS Grampian. The organization was nominated by student Debbie Humble who felt she was given an invaluable insight into the role of marketing and communications within a major public sector organization.

Winner of the Achievement in Internationalisation Award, Dominion Gas, has entered 16 new international markets over the past 12 months or so. The company estimates that a 24% increase in staff numbers could be attributed to international business activity, while exports accounted for £11 million, a rise of £6 million on the previous year.

Socially Responsible Company of the Year Award went to JAMstudio Limited, an architectural practice based at Fetternear, Inverurie. The company has strived to include socially responsible projects on their agenda since they set up in 2003.

The Commitment to People Development Award went to ARAMARK Limited in recognition of the emphasis they place on employee development, while the Excellence in Customer Service Award went to Prestige Scotland for their consistent delivery of outstanding customer service.

Also celebrating their Northern Star success is winner of the Renewable Energy Award, Subocean Group Ltd which have become one of the UK’s leaders in the renewable market for cable lay and burial activity.

The Best Use of ICT Award went to Aker Solutions in recognition of their use of technology to gain competitive advantage and to grow their business. Aker is a leading global provider of engineering and construction services, technology products and integrated solutions.

Staying with the energy sector, FIS Chemicals Ltd won this year’s Sustainability Award, while flexlife Ltd picked up top place for the Research and Development Award. Flexlife’s biggest breakthrough to date is its patented ultrasonic scanning system for the flexible pipe which carries hydrocarbons from the seabed to production vessels.

Yesterday’s event was hosted by Ben Fogle, all round adventurer and one of the nation’s favourite television presenters. The North-east business community gave Ben a traditional warm welcome as he kept the evening’s entertainment awards ceremony on track.

Chamber Chief Executive, Robert Collier, said: “We enjoyed a top class event with some outstanding individuals and businesses taking their rightful place on the winner’s podium. Our finalists represented all sectors of our business community and each one is a significant contributor to our economy.

“Given the economic turbulence we’ve experienced over the past 18 months or so, the quality of all of our finalists is a testament to the fact that the North-east is home to some world class businesses and people. We are rightly proud and should continue to celebrate and encourage these achievements”