Scotland’s largest organic waste management firm has been named as Business of the Year at a new Scottish awards ceremony.
Family-owned, Keenan Recycling, which is headquartered in New Deer in Aberdeenshire, with a second office in Linlithgow, secured the Business of the Year (under 250 staff) at the inaugural Scottish SME Business Awards.
The event acknowledged and celebrated the achievements, determination and hard work of professionals and businesses from the SME industry in Scotland.
It was one of 25 awards presented to Scottish businesses at the ceremony in Glasgow, which was attended by more than 300 people.
Keenan Recycling launched its commercial food waste collection service in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire in 2010 and now processes more than 60,000 tonnes of waste each year, transforming it into British Standards Institute accredited compost.
The company, which boasts a 14-acre facility at New Deer, near Turriff, opened a base at Linlithgow in August 2015 and has invested £1.2m in a fleet of lorries to roll out its award-winning organic waste collection service to customers in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Grant Keenan, managing director of Keenan Recycling, said: “Securing this award and being recognised as one of Scotland’s leading business is a fantastic accolade for Keenan Recycling. Our growth over the past few years has been rapid as we expanded into the central belt and we have had the benefit of a great team, both in New Deer and in Linlithgow, which has supported our growth plans. We faced some strong competition in the category, so we are delighted to have come through as winners.”
Keenan Recycling’s growth in the central belt was fuelled with a £2.2m investment from BGF (Business Growth Fund) in 2015, supporting the business to increase its food waste collection in the south of Scotland from 600 customers to more than 7000 customers Scotland wide.
As the firm continues to expand throughout Scotland, it is set to eye further growth south of the border in the coming months.