And the winner is……….

Chesterfield-based inspirepac has been named Business of the Year at the Business Awards Derbyshire 2010.

The event, which took place at the Roundhouse last night (26 Feb), was jointly organised by Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce and the Derby Telegraph. It was compered by local TV presenter Kay Alexander, while  double-Commonwealth gold medal winning swimmer Ross Davenport was the guest of honour.

inspirepac is a leading independent packaging group at the forefront of its sector in the UK, which prides itself on delivering quality, creativity, innovation and value that exceeds clients' expectations. The inspirepac group consists of five businesses and is renowned for being a leading independent expert and dynamic supplier of creative corrugated packaging solutions.

inspirepac group chairman Alan Goodall said: "I am absolutely delighted that inspirepac has won the Business of the Year award. I am pleased to accept this award on behalf of my colleagues at inspirepac and it is a wonderful recognition of their dedication, expertise and hard work that has consistently gained us respect by our industry."

George Cowcher, Chief Executive of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce, said: "Congratulations to all of the winners of this year's Business Awards Derbyshire.

"These awards are all about showcasing the best that the Derbyshire business sector has to offer and all of this year's winners are a credit to the city and the county.

"All have been selected because of the excellence, innovation and enterprise they have demonstrated over the last 12 months and it is clear that the business sector in Derbyshire is thriving and has much to be proud about."

The full list of winners is as follows:

Most Promising New Business, sponsored by Digital Exchange 

Ecotek UK, based in Chesterfield, specialises in providing power saving solutions for electronic devices and is home to the now famous Standby Saver, the first product ever to receive approval from all five dragons on the hit TV show Dragons' Den.

Ecotek began business with a product developed to save wasted standby power on computers and televisions. The company began trading just 21 months ago and in its first year had a turnover of more than £2.4m.

Within the company's first year, it had secured high street representation and a plethora of website retailers dedicated to the green revolution. Ecotek or its major product, Standby Saver, has won international and regional awards and has been a finalist in several more.

Standby Saver is now being marketed in the US and Ecotek is launching its new product, Energy Wizard, this year.

Tim Lindley, founder and CEO of Ecotek UK Ltd, said: "we are thrilled to have won this award and to receive regional recognition for our innovation in response to today's changing global environment. Our growth as a new business has been phenomenal - we started out in 2008 and in March 2010 we are on schedule to roll out our one millionth energy-saving Standby Saver product.
 
"Winning this award represents what can be achieved through hard work, commitment and a belief in driving change. We are preparing six more energy saving devices for market this year. These are exciting times and we are delighted that our vision for a cleaner, carbon-reduced environment has been recognised by the Chamber. Ecotek is on track to grow globally in 2010 and this exceptional sales growth is a mark of a great team based here in Derbyshire who are able to handle the demands of today's evermore rapid response market."

Innovation Through Technology, sponsored by Rolls Royce

A friendly local company nestled in the Derbyshire Dales, Vital Earth uses a bespoke process that harnesses nature and technology to create a range of composts, fertilisers and soil improvers, which are of a consistently high quality.

Vital Earth opened its purpose built plant at Ashbourne in 2006 - and it is still the largest, most advanced in-vessel composting site in the UK. Unique processes and control systems, developed and patented by its employees were backed with an initial £8m investment by parent company Longcliffe.

It put together an opportunity to derive income from green waste disposal with an equal opportunity to turn that raw material into valuable, saleable green compost.

Managing Director Steve Harper said: "As a business, Vital Earth has invested three years of research and seven years of development in creating an in-vessel system using our own process control that is totally sympathetic to the requirements of the natural bacteria so as to rapidly decompose the waste despite seasonal influences, temperature and rainfall, creating a compost that is both consistent and traceable that could eliminate the need for peat.  This unique system has brought ultimate control to the sector that has allowed us to create the highest quality compost.

"This has enabled us to bring to market a complete range of Vital Earth branded composts to compete with the established peat based products and turn waste into high value retail commodity using our unique system in just eight weeks then sold through hundreds of garden centres across the UK.

"The team is bowled over that our accomplishments have been recognised with this award which will give us further impetus to develop new and innovative products for the horticulture markets."

Achievement in International Business, sponsored by the International Trade Forum 

Cooper Research Technology Ltd, of Ripley, is one of the world leaders in the design and manufacture of high performance testing equipment for asphalt and unbound materials used in highway construction. Operating within a niche market, more than 80% of its recent business has been global export.

Its Nottingham Asphalt Tester (NAT) was designed in the 1980s and was the first machine of its type. In simple terms, the machine has automated and improved the measured accuracy of the mechanical properties of asphalt. Since the 1980s, the company has steadily increased its range of products and over the last three years has seen exponential growth.

Managing Director Peter Grafton said: "Awareness of a problem is often the first important step towards a solution. Empirical findings suggest handing over of the business from father to son is ‘The start of a problem'. At Cooper Technology we took the decision to consciously make the transition ‘The start of the opportunity'.

"Over the last 5 years we have developed the ability to question, challenge and change operating norms and assumptions, as a learning organisation we include everyone, autonomous working practices have led to improvements beyond our expectations, this years trading to date is once again exceptional. 

"Receiving this award is recognition of the fact that when a determined team decides it will deliver, not even the a global economic downturn can stop it's progress. Only a few years ago Cooper Technology was a minnow in the world of Asphalt testing solutions, before long it will be the biggest fish in the ocean, supplying the largest range of UK manufactured asphalt testing equipment throughout the world. We are already the largest UK producer of asphalt equipment."

The Environment Award sponsored by Toyota Manufacturing (UK) Ltd 

Ashbourne-based Vital Earth manufactures an extensive range of high performance, environmentally-kind, locally-sourced, peat-free composts for the retail garden market by recycling garden and food waste which would otherwise go to landfill, at the same time reducing the need to harvest peat.

Its purpose-built plant at Ashbourne is the largest, most advanced in-vessel composting site in the UK. Vital Earth provides a positive solution to the recycling of waste leading to a saleable product which fulfils the environmental requirements of the garden market. The company's commitment to replicating its technological innovations nationwide will lead to considerably more positive impacts on the environment.

Managing Director Steve Harper said: "We are absolutely delighted to have won this award as it recognises that Vital Earth are a business created entirely on an environmental premise. Our founder Malcolm Rich wanted to produce a peat-free growing media and created a bespoke system that allowed him to do this.

"Our process has removed the need to landfill thousands of tonnes of food and garden waste each year eliminating the creation of methane as a greenhouse gas.  Additionally every bag of compost we sell under the Vital Earth brand reduces the need for peat whose harvesting destroys valuable flora and fauna and releases carbon dioxide from one of our planets largest carbon sinks. This enables us to create a virtuous circle of green retail products enabling everyone else to be greener gardeners.

"Furthermore over the past two years we have worked on more efficient methods of using energy replacing diesel power with electric and recycle our own waste streams to further eliminate the need for landfill.  Over the forthcoming years we are now looking at how we can become truly carbon neutral without the need to offset."

Business Skills and Staff Development, sponsored by University of Derby (Corporate) 

Marriott Breadsall Priory Hotel & Country Club is an elegant, full-service hotel is renowned for attention to detail and design, offering unparalleled event management alongside top quality facilities and technology.

The hotel offers a wide range of facilities including accommodation, conference and function rooms and a choice of restaurants, in addition to golf, leisure and health and beauty services.

The company refers to its employees as associates, with the organisation's philosophy centring on looking after staff, who will in turn look after their guests to generate business growth and success for the company and the local economy.

The last year has seen the advancement of many associates from the local community grow and develop from base positions in to supervisory roles. One of the main attractions for both the local labour market and Marriott associates who join the hotel is the extensive development opportunities that the company offers and the worldwide career opportunities available. Its senior management team believes that the development of associates is a fundamental basic and crucial to the hotels success and future growth.

Nicholas Dumbell, Breadsall Priory's general manager, said: "This success is a testament to the strong team of associates we have at Breadsall Priory. A key Marriott philosophy is if you look after your associates they will look after our guests. We have embraced this at the hotel and invested in our associates to develop talent and ensure we have a pipeline of future leaders.

"To achieve our goal of being the top hotel destination in the Midlands for business, leisure and group guests and members we need a strong and motivated team that constantly looks at ways to win in service. We achieve this by creating an environment where associates fully understand the goals of the hotel and their department and how they play a key role in achieving success.

"Our mission is to win in service by proactively offering customers the most valuable assistance, information and support in a uniquely warm, caring and intuitive manner. To help us achieve this we have recruited, trained and developed a team of associates who embrace this 100%. The Austin Canons who founded Breadsall Priory 760 years ago were well known for their generous hospitality and the team take great pride in continuing this important tradition."

Entrepreneur of the Year, sponsored by Business Link

Garry McBride is the chairman and owner of Evans Concrete Products Ltd, which offers the design, supply and installation of bespoke precast concrete products. Based in Alfreton and formed in 1925, Evans Concrete originally manufactured cow standings and water troughs for agriculture.

It handles a variety of projects from new builds and refurbishments to major construction schemes across a variety of sectors - commercial, industrial, education, residential and retail.

Garry has led the development of Evans since acquiring it in 1998. He has forged excellent business relationships with long-standing customers, helping to secure high levels of repeat business and attracted many new customers.

He has recently appeared on Channel 4's Big Arts programme, which featured Evans' award winning Dream Sculpture in St Helens, and on BBC East Midlands Today about its work for the Olympics.

Through a combination of developing staff, building on its strengths, adapting techniques and skills to changing needs and continually assessing and reassessing staff capability, Evans has become a local manufacturing success story.

Garry said: "Being born and bred and living in Derbyshire all my life and investing £1m in a redundant factory, virtually doubling the workforce, creating record-breaking profits and being so personally involved in creating the multi-award winning Dream sculpture in St Helens and now manufacturing history with the Olympic Games, this accolade tops a truly wonderful year for me and recognises the importance of traditional manufacturing in this country."
 
Business of the Year, sponsored by East Midlands Development Agency

inspirepac is a leading independent packaging group with a proven and unrivalled track record in delivering quality, creativity, innovation and value to clients in all markets.

The inspirepac group consists of five businesses and is renowned for being a leading independent expert and dynamic supplier of creative corrugated packaging solutions. The company's extensive product portfolio offers customers a total one stop shop corrugated packaging solution, specialising in protective packaging, retail-ready packaging and point of sale displays for delivery throughout the UK and Europe.

inspirepac offers a wide range of options and its prestigious portfolio of international blue chip clients reflects its extensive manufacturing experience and capability. Through commitment to innovation and new product design, inspirepac has enjoyed a constantly evolving product portfolio and continued success in packaging solutions.

inspirepac group chairman Alan Goodall said: "I am absolutely delighted that inspirepac has won the Business of the Year award. I am pleased to accept this award on behalf of my colleagues at inspirepac and it is a wonderful recognition of their dedication, expertise and hard work that has consistently gained us respect by our industry."

For more information, please contact:
Jon Smart, Press and Media Manager
Tel: 01246 207207
Mob: 07764 431028
Email: Jonathan.Smart@dncc.co.uk  
Web: www.dncc.co.uk  


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