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Oil and Gas Sector Leading the way as Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise Finalists

Companies and service providers linked to the oil and gas sector are leading the way as finalists for this year’s Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise, which takes place at the Mecure Ardoe House Hotel on Thursday June 30 2011.

Duncan Skinner of Wood Group PSN is a finalist in the Entrepreneurial Supporter of the Year category.  Duncan has been the focal point for the successful relaunch of Glencraft (The Royal Aberdeen Workshops for the Blind and Disabled).  After being in business since 1839, Glencraft ceased trading in November 2009 and 52 staff were made redundant.  Successfully generating a new business plan for Glencraft, Duncan engaged with a host of bodies including Aberdeen City Council, Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Government and, while harnessing support from the local community, succeeded in re-opening Glencraft as a Social Enterprise in April 2010.

Roy MacGregor Chairman of Global Energy Group has been nominated for the Entrepreneur of the Year Award.  Fostering this passion for business and entrepreneurial spirit and after numerous successful years in the recruitment industry, Roy set up Global Resources to supply workers to the oil and gas industry. An opportunity arose to enter the rig repair and maintenance sector, and the firm grew at a rapid rate and. After a series of acquisitions the company, which has been rebranded Global Energy Group, now has 23 trading companies.

Making the move from employee to employer and setting up your own business has not been easy for Rae Younger, founder of Cognity and a finalist for the Emerging Entrepreneur award and Promising New Business award.  When Rae set up Cognity, an independent consultancy providing services to the oil and gas industry in June 2010, his main aim was to create a corporate culture dedicated to providing the best service possible.  Winning his first contract two months later and employing a workforce of 10, Rae is expecting to grow the workforce with a further six to eight posts in the next year.

Shortlisted for the Wood Group Award for Innovation award is Rigmar, pioneer of the RUSH system (Rigmar Underdeck Suspended Habitat) system. The RUSH innovative concept has been developed to create a versatile, heavy duty yet lightweight suspended access which is used to provide a safe, time-saving and secure working space for the oil and gas sector. From the initial concept in 2009, Rigmar has been successful in supplying specialist access to companies to the energy sector.

Alongside Rigmar, Ecosse Subsea Systems have been shortlisted for the Wood Group Award for Innovation for their underwater tool, SCAR.  SCAR was launched on the subsea market earlier this year. The development of the ground breaking tool was assisted by a £30,000 R&D grant from Scottish Enterprise. The tool is the only multi pass cable plough in the world and is suited to a variety of tasks, including seabed feature levelling, pipeline trench pre-cutting, simultaneous cable lay and burial and post lay burial.

Established in 1988, AMC Engineering has established a global reputation for excellence in the torque equipment industry. Supplier to major oil and gas companies across the world, the dynamic firm has grown with a 1000% increase in seven years, winning substantial contracts under the leadership of Managing Director Andrew Polson. AMC Engineering is a finalist in the Business Success over 3 years category.

Survival Craft Inspectorate is also a finalist in the business success over 3 years category.  Angus Campbell and Keith Hunt established Survival Craft in 1991 and since then have strived to set themselves apart from competitors. With 20 years experience of supplying, servicing and maintaining safety equipment the Aberdeen-based company has achieved global success in a specialist field, operating in Norway, Singapore Malaysia, US and Australia.

The annual Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise are organised by Enterprise North East Trust (ENET) and sponsored by The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council. The awards ceremony will take place on 30^th June at Ardoe House Hotel, by Aberdeen.  The winners of all of the awards will receive a unique handcrafted trophy, while the winner of the Sir Ian Wood Award will also receive a cheque for £5000.  More information about the awards can be found at www.enetrust.com.

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The Business Gateway service in Grampian is delivered by Enterprise North East Trust.  For more information on Business Gateway services visit www.bgateway.com or phone 01224 289725.