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Twenty-two different East of England companies have won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in this year’s accolades; Element1 in Luton has won two awards, for innovation and international trade, taking the haul to 23 – four more than last year.
Globally game-changing technology and stunning export successes account for all but three of our jewels in the crown. Two companies win awards for Sustainable Development while YTKO stands alone for Promoting Opportunity.
One stand-out stat in the make-up of the winners is that there are almost twice the number of international trade champions as innovation trailblazers in the pantheon – 13 to seven.
That will surprise many observers fed an almost daily diet of East of England innovation excellence across technology, industry and the life sciences while export success stories remain pretty thin on the ground.
In a nutshell, International Trade winners were: 10 to 8 Limited; Medical Research Network; Element1; Kestrel Liner Agencies; Pico Technology; Geosense Ltd; Agrimech Ltd; Global Plant Genetics; Ziath Ltd; Cellbond; Bradman-Lake Ltd; ESDT Operations; ProtecX Medical.
Innovation awards went to: Element1; Drivershields UK; VEXO International; Ion Science; Todd Research; Bambusa Ltd; Kane International.
Sustainable Development winners were WUKA and Burland Technology while YTKO won the sole Promoting Opportunity accolade for the region.
Let’s open the biographies with the cohort of International Trade winners. In line with the UK list distributed by the Queen’s Award Office they are in no particular order. The words are those of the Queen’s Award team, not Business Weekly’s.
10 to 8 Limited 10 to 8 Limited is based in Cambridge and started trading in 2011. It is a Software-as-a-Service company that provides an appointment management, online booking and automated communications system translated into 40 languages. Clients include banks, recruiters, hospitals, and many small businesses in beauty, photography, and counselling.
Overseas sales increased by 253 per cent across the three-year period under review and key markets include the US, India, Australia, Canada and Israel.
Covid had an immediate impact on the business; however it was used as an opportunity to pivot and capitalise on the situation by scaling into the Caribbean, New South Wales Health, Netherlands, Germany, North Africa and the UAE. The company is investing in product capability, marketing and sales to grow the US healthcare and other scheduling dependent industries with the goal to double the size of the business year on year.
Medical Research Network Ltd Medical Research Network Ltd (MRN) opened in 2006 specialising in the conduct of clinical trials in the home for global pharmaceutical and biotech companies. The service allows clients to find more patients, run trials faster and less expensively and gets life-saving drugs to market sooner.
Headquartered in Milton Keynes with offices in North America (c.90 staff), Spain and Germany, MRN has conducted home clinical trial visits across all major clinical research countries spanning North America, Europe, Asia and Australasia and is the biggest business in its market.
In 2020 it began to enter Japan and became able to deliver its services in 40 countries. Annual overseas sales grew by 119 per cent in the three years considered, with UK staff numbers doubling alongside considerable commercial success.
Established in 1994, and based in Stansted, the latest success brings up a hat-trick for high-flying Kestrel Liner Agencies which previously won the Queen’s Award for International Trade in 2010 and 2018. The company provides supply chain and logistics management globally offering all types of freight and shipment combinations.
It works in niche markets using its expertise acting as a Liner Agent representing shipping lines which call into certain areas, for example around the Caribbean islands, and booking global cargo that meets up with their vessels in Miami or the Dominican Republic to deliver around the Caribbean.
With new Lines regularly being brought on board such as the giant car carriers from Japan, the company continues to expand its areas of business. Its business is 100 per cent international and overseas sales have grown over three years by 50 per cent. It has management offices in USA, Hong Kong and South Africa and agency offices across the Caribbean.
Element 1 Engineering Based in Luton, Element 1 Engineering trades under the brand name Eventuri and was was founded in 2014. The company designs, engineers and manufactures bespoke car intake systems to replace the standard airbox setup from factory. Its market focus is on the high performance car sector like the M power range from BMW and the RS range from Audi. Over the three years to October 2020 its overseas sales have grown 139 per cent. Its main markets are USA, Germany, China, Japan and Belgium. Despite the Covid pandemic, it has achieved record sales figures with the most volume coming from the US.
Pico Technology Eaton Socon-based Pico Technology started trading in 1991 designing and manufacturing high-performance PC based oscilloscopes, data loggers, RF equipment and automotive oscilloscopes and kits.
These are used by scientists, technicians, engineers and researchers to troubleshoot and validate the performance of their devices and systems. Being PC based allows users to access data from anywhere and is Pico’s USP.
Its automotive diagnostic equipment is used by technicians in the aftermarket and by vehicle manufacturers worldwide to diagnose electrical and electronic faults.
Pico exports to over 80 countries through six staffed offices in Europe, the US and Asia, supporting local distributors. Top markets are the US, Germany, China, Japan and Switzerland, demonstrating the success of its strategy to focus on technology hotspots. It was a winner of a similar award in 2014.
Geosense Bury St Edmunds-based Geosense started trading in 2013, manufacturing and supplying geotechnical instruments and data acquisition systems used worldwide for safety monitoring of elements such as tunnels and metros, deep foundations, infrastructure, mines, dams and geohazards. From the Paris Metro to the world’s largest copper mine, Geosense sensors have been used as part of safety critical monitoring schemes around the world.
Geosense sensors have been sold to more than 75 countries as new suitable projects are identified and target sectors develop. Top markets were Chile, Spain, USA, Germany and Brazil.
Overseas sales grew by 59 per cent across the three year period reviewed during which time the proportion of total sales secured overseas increased from 46 per cent to a high of 60 per cent. Geosense is said to have demonstrated significant commercial success across all areas.
Agrimech Ltd Wisbech-based Agrimech Ltd was established in 2009 designing and manufacturing automation machinery packing solutions for weighing, sealing, placing and palletising products. In 2019 the company launched the Hydra, the first British-made multi-headed weighing system. Overseas sales grew by over 200 per cent in three years with the proportion of total sales generated overseas increasing from 3.9 per cent to 13.4 per cent.
At a time when UK sales were falling slightly Agrimech became increasingly successful commercially. The company only began exporting in 2018 and has a target to increase this to 40 per cent within the next five years whilst still growing domestic sales.
Agrimech focusses entirely on the huge potato growing areas of the US and Canada which alone offers substantial opportunities for further growth.
Global Plant Genetics Global Plant Genetics started in 2015, based in Hunstanton, Norfolk. As an Intellectual Property business it contractually represents worldwide rights to new genetics for a range of crops such as strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, asparagus, grape rootstocks, wine grapes and nuts, also exporting seeds and plants to seed companies, plant nurseries and growers around the world.
The strategy focuses on areas with warmer climates and a high availability of labour, driving growth throughout Europe, South America, Africa and some Asian countries.
The company responded to the challenges of overseas travel presented by COVID by investing in targeted marketing support exports in different ways. Overseas sales have grown by 91 per cent over the three-year application period and the proportion of sales exported has increased to 74 per cent of total sales.
Ziath Ltd Established in Cambridge in 2005, Ziath Ltd designs, manufactures, sells and supports equipment used to track large numbers of chemical and/or biomedical samples. Over 90 per cent of sales are products exported to countries around the world including to the US, Germany, Japan, Australia, India and China. Target sectors for Ziath’s products include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical diagnostics (including Covid related diagnostics), forensics and agricultural diagnostics.
Overseas sales have grown by 69 per cent across the last three years with the percentage exported maintaining at 88 per cent. New clients gained include the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria and the World Health Organisation in Geneva, Switzerland as they purchased equipment to support the roll out of Covid-19 testing to Developing Nations. In response to COVID the company demonstrated great agility recruiting and training staff to build scientific instruments to meet the demand for their products.
Cellbond Cellbond, a division of Encocam Limited, is based in Huntingdon and has been trading since 1988. It specialises in the design and manufacture of technology based composite structures primarily used in the automotive sector in controlled crash tests to assess the safety of vehicles occupants and other road users.
Products and services include energy absorbers, deformable crash test barriers, crash test dummies, pedestrian impactors, laser speed measurement devices, calibrated aluminium honeycomb, testing, finite element analysis, consultancy and the design, build and supply of related certification and calibration equipment.
Overseas sales grew by 138 per cent across a six-year period reviewed, with top markets including China, South Korea, India, Germany, Japan and the United States. The company won a 2017 award in this category.
Bradman-Lake Beccles- based Bradman-Lake was established in 2007, bringing together four older brands manufacturing primary packaging, secondary cartoning, end of line case, shrink-wrapping and bakery bagging machines. This enables the company to offer a turnkey packaging service to customers and is the UK’s largest manufacturer of automated and robotic packaging machinery. Customers include many well-known international brands. Export sales grew by 167 per cent in three yeas when the proportion of sales achieved overseas grew from 25 per cent to 69 per cent.
Bradman-Lake has offices in Moscow, Mumbai and Rock Hill (USA) and 16 active agents. Top markets are India, the US, Spain, Canada and Jordan. The company has been particularly successful in India, where it has an installed base of machinery representing c.30 per cent of the potential market.
ESDT Operations Established in 2015 and based in Harlow, ESDT Operations is a privately owned business which specialises in the design, manufacture and supply of industrial spray drying equipment and solutions for use in the food, dairy, chemical, pharmaceutical and recycling industries globally.
It is the UK’s premier supplier of spray drying systems with an extensive range of plant and equipment for powder production. The company’s services to the client includes sales, design, project management, installation supervision, operator training and commissioning.
Overseas sales have grown over three years by 385 per cent and now account for 93 per cent of total sales. The company operates across Europe, USA, Far East, Middle East and Australia: 93 per cent of its overseas business is with the US and its other top markets are Bahrain, Ukraine and Vietnam.
ProtecX Medical Limited ProtecX Medical Limited is based in Hitchin and has been trading since 2001. It is a leading UK manufacturer in the radiation protection sector. It hand crafts products and can boast some of the quickest delivery times in the market; giving the NHS and international markets access to quality products to keep them safe whilst working with ionizing radiation.
The company manufactures in compliance with the PPE Regulation (EU) and meets stringent world standard, whilst operating to the ISO 9001 standard. Overseas sales grew by 54 per cent over three years and key markets include Italy, Germany, Australia, Japan and Ireland.
The pandemic allowed the business to pivot its manufacturing to produce general PPE, such as isolation gowns, visors and fabric face masks.
Drivershields UK Established in 2003, Essex company Drivershields UK’s innovation is a solution that addresses concerns for the safety of an individual with learning disability as a passenger in a vehicle and that of the driver. The company recognised that a driver can be at risk of physical harm or distraction with a passenger that becomes agitated. To remove this risk, the company developed a unique structure that fits to the front seats of any make/model of vehicle with features for complete adjustability.
Shields are moulded (vacuum formed) from 6mm tough clear plastic sheet with separate moulds for driver and passenger seats. Shields fit over and around the driver and front seat passenger, overlapping between the front seats to prevent access across the centre console. The design is the subject of a patent application and was developed in conjunction with major national care organisations.
VEXO International VEXO International in Biggleswade has been a manufacturer of plumbing and heating supplies since 2012. The company’s innovative X-POT multi-functional water conditioning system for commercial heating and cooling systems is a novel, patented product that has changed accepted practice in the trade.
Commercial systems often have several devices fitted to remove sludge and treat the water. These are usually installed piecemeal at different stages, thus providing additional maintenance issues.
The multi-functional X-POT product includes magnetic filters, additive dosing pot, dirt and air separator, cartridge, and bag filters with filtration down to 0.5 microns. These elements work together to remove limescale, magnetite, dirt, sludge and biofilm from hydronic heating and cooling systems. The product has a granted patent in 11 territories, including the US. Successfully replacing legacy devices with a single, easy to install and maintain device helps users save energy through improved performance.
Ion Science Ion Science in Fowlmere was established in 1989 for the manufacture of superior gas sensors. Its patented innovation is the MiniPID – a gas sensor for the detection of volatile organic compounds using photo-ionisation detection (PID) technology that was originally developed in 2007. Since then, it has provided a platform for multiple product applications and it remains superior to any comparable product. The MiniPID can be used to detect up to 950 different compounds, many of which pose a serious threat to human health and life if people are exposed.
Previously, PID technology had not been harnessed fully in sensor form - certainly not in sufficiently compact form which can be incorporated into gas detection instruments, including wearables, where it can be most effective.
Customers who use MiniPID have seen an improvement in their worker health and safety standards with fewer workers reporting long-term health issues or being subject to over-exposure.
Element 1 Engineering Beds-based Element 1 Engineering was formed in 2014 by the founder of the company who had a passion for improving performance engine efficiency. The company was a 2019 winner of an award for International Trade. A good air intake system nourishes a car’s engine with this necessary combustion ingredient.
Aftermarket (or post manufacture modification) products are limited in scope, and enthusiasts could not find products to meet the performance gains sought. Using his aeronautical background the founder designed, patented, and launched an innovative reverse mounted cone air filter system to increase engine power.
The innovative system allows improved airflow from the filter to the engine resulting in greater efficiency. The designs have been adopted by most major automotive marques and are demonstrably superior to alternatives. The innovation has driven 528 per cent company growth over the past five years.
Todd Research For over 50 years, Todd Research – based in Papworth – has been designing, manufacturing and supplying x-ray scanners, metal detectors and blast suppression equipment across various public and private market channels. Its Innovation Award is for the latest generation of cabinet scanners, the TR15-CT4 which can detect harmful powders and explosives utilising their completely new Colour Trace 4â„¢ software platform.
The system provides a new benchmark of threat detection and high-quality image management for compact cabinet scanners. The TR15-CT4 can detect harmful powders such as ricin and anthrax and explosives down to 3 grams.
In addition, the system delivers HD Quality imaging using new fluoroscopic X-Ray imaging technology and internet connectivity for emergency communications capability. Connectivity has also enabled remote diagnosis and software upgrades. The product has been supplied to every British Embassy worldwide.
Bambusa Ltd Norwich-based Bambusa Ltd, founded in 2016, produces a range of cycling tools and accessories. The company identified a gap in the market for a tool that a cyclist could use themselves to replace dropped chains on a bicycle, that would remove the need for the rider to handle and become messy from the oil on the chain.
This is a task for which many riders carry disposable gloves. The unique and patented Rehook tool makes replacing a bicycle chain simple, convenient, and clean. The tool has received many glowing reviews and the business secured an investment when it presented the product on Dragon’s Den.
Kane International Welwyn-based Kane International, established in 1981, is a manufacturer, repairer and calibrator of hand-held emissions testers and boiler flue gas analysers. All analysers must be returned for annual service and recertification to ensure accuracy. The company developed an innovative service whereby the time taken for yearly recertification and service of analysers was reduced from up to 15 days down to one day.
During this return period, a gas engineer could potentially suffer a loss of earnings. The significant reduction in time taken was achieved by developing an automated recalibration system combined with automated online business processes such as invoicing and booking. The reduced turnaround of equipment ensures that engineers suffer minimal interruption to their work.
WUKA Founded in Hemel Hempstead in 2017, WUKA is a female-led company of 11 employees, making affordable, sustainable, reusable and leak-proof period wear. Every aspect of the business is sustainable. The company is carbon-neutral. Packaging is minimised, biodegradable, and printed without bleach. Individual items are wrapped in compostable corn starch bags for hygeine and also easy exchange.
FSC certified cards are used for in-store cartons WUKA regularly donates to schools/nurses to deliver up-to-date information about periods and their social/environmental impact including the City To Sea’s Rethink Periods Project – a teacher training programme as part of a period product demonstration programme. It provides a significant boost to education about period issues.
WUKA is awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development because it has an innovative and exemplary programme that covers product, the impact of the company itself and reaches out to consumers, manufacturers and others.
Burland Technology Burland Technology started trading in 2008; it is based in Great Blakenham, Suffolk, and employs 12 staff. It uses a subcontract manufacturing business model to produce its own designs of power distribution products for use in office fit-out, data centres, retail, and education sectors.
In 2017 the company stopped fighting competitors using a business model based on components with a short life which were thrown away when offices were altered or refurbished. It has realigned its business model to provide a circular business model based on a lifetime warranty and take-back service. This has produced significant positive environmental and cost impacts.
Products include under-floor power track, floor boxes, access grommets, desk power modules, data centre rack power and power/AV units. Burland wins because it has provided leadership and shown a small business can lead the way and nudge their sector,
YTKO Ltd YTKO Ltd in Littleport started trading in 1978. The company’s vision is to demonstrate how a private-sector approach can transform social outcomes. Its initial ambition was to support 25,000 individuals to start 20,000 businesses, create 10,000 jobs, and raise £50m in finance. The company overachieved this target by the end of 2019.
More than 85 per cent of its activity is not for profit, focusing on disadvantaged individuals living in deprived areas. YTKO’s Outset programme, established in 2009, has provided start-up support to over 24,500 people from disadvantaged groups alone. Over half the participants were female, against a national average of 23 per cent; 20 per cent were Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME), and over 40 per cent received benefits.
Starting in 2006, the company’s Enterprising Women programme has reached 45,000 female entrepreneurs. Its innovative digital programme Outset Online supports entrepreneurs with mobility issues who are carers or live in rural areas.
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