WINNERS OF THE BIBAS 2006 UNVEILED
The winners of The BIBAs (Be Inspired Business Awards) 2006 were unveiled at a glittering, Oscar style ceremony held at The Empress Ballroom, The Winter Gardens, Blackpool on Friday March 3 2006 – with one of the prestigious awards going to a Skelmersdale based business.
Midstream (West Lancs) Ltd, picked up The SELNET Social Enterprise of the Year Award. Midstream, based in West Pimbo, provides vocational training and employment in a caring, supportive environment, meeting the needs of young people and adults with learning difficulties and other special needs. Primarily focused on horticulture, the company also provides training and employment in woodworking, recycling, business administration and retail through the on site garden centre.
Anita Cooke, Chief Executive of Midstream (West Lancs) Ltd. commented, “We are thoroughly delighted to win such a prestigious business award. Midstream work extremely hard to improve the quality of life of people who, through no fault of their own, stand in danger of exclusion from the world of work. Balancing charity and commerciality is a constant challenge for Midstream. Receiving this award is excellent recognition for the hard work, vision and passion shared by all involved. Many thanks to SELNET for sponsoring the Social Enterprise of the Year Award.”
The BIBAs 2006 were organised by Business Link Lancashire with support from key sponsors, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) in Lancashire and Blackpool Council.
This year’s awards ceremony was attended by over 550 representatives from local businesses alongside key dignitaries from across the county. The ceremony saw top businesses from Lancashire competing for a prestigious, exclusively designed trophy for each of the eleven category winners.
The other award winners were:
The Northwest Regional Development Agency New Business of the Year Award
R.Kirk & Sons Ltd, Earby
Providing specialist construction in the water industry. R. Kirk &
Sons Ltd, with offices in Colne and Earby, provides storage solutions for
liquids and gas. The organisation offers a complete package of specialist
storage solutions to a client base that includes United Utilities and other
major water authorities.
The company has benefited from a significant investment in its young team
and over the past two years has more than doubled its workforce.
The Blackpool International Airport International Trade Award
Nitecrest Ltd, Leyland
Personalisation bureau, Nitecrest Ltd, based in Leyland, specialise in manufacturing phonecards, loyalty cards and payment cards. The company is the leading manufacturer of phonecards in the UK and are successfully exporting to foreign markets worldwide.
Currently producing cards for 74 countries, by the end of 2005 Nitecrest had produced around 500 million cards and in the past five years alone production has increased from 1 million cards a year to 12 million cards each week.
The Lancaster University Management School Leadership Team of the Year
Marton Mere Holiday Village, Blackpool
The holiday caravan park, based in Blackpool, provides an appealing environment with a large range of facilities for families to enjoy a holiday or holiday home ownership.
With General Manager Andrew Cressey at the helm, over the past 2 years the organisation has seen turnover top the £13million mark, with profits increasing by £500k.
The Lancashire Digital Development Agency Award for Best Use of E-Business
iknow-uk, Leyland
Leyland based iknow-uk has fully utilised the internet led transformation
in the accommodation booking market to establish websites that make the
process simple, quick and easy to use for customers. In the last 12 months
more than 2,000,000 visitors have made over £50,000,000 of booking
enquiries.
The websites also meet the needs of accommodation providers, offering personalised
online advertising for each property.
The Myerscough College Rural Business of the Year
Rose County Foods, Clitheroe
Clitheroe based Rose County Foods are specialists in the slaughter of cattle and lambs and the de-boning of beef. The company has proved resilient despite disasters such as the outbreak of BSE in 1996 and Foot and Mouth Disease in 2001. The fact that they are still a key player in their industry is testimony to the dedication of the entire team at Rose County Foods.
The University of Central Lancashire Award for Business Innovation
Radal Technology Ltd, Burnley
Burnley based Radal Technology Ltd. design, manufacture and distribute a range of technological products to 22 countries around the world, and is the global leader in the detection of illicit tobacco smoke. Its pioneering product the ‘Cig-Arrête® Tobacco Control System’, provides the solution to the problem of illicit smoking in no smoking areas, with detection technology that either picks up smoke, or senses the flame of a match or lighter!
The Write Angle and Design Force Award for Marketing with Impact
Healthy & Essential, Fleetwood
Healthy and Essential, based in Fleetwood hold the sole rights for the
retail and distribution of leading brands of omega-3 fish and flax oil natural
food supplements for the UK, Ireland and Thailand.
With the launch of the Omega Schools Initiative, Healthy and Essential is
providing a service to parents and schools promoting the health benefits
of Omega 3 oils. With the backing of leading health experts, the initiative
has been hugely successful with many schools signing up for informative
talks resulting in greatly increased sales for the company.
The Springfields Fuels Ltd Award for Performance through People
JRH Electrical Services, Blackpool
Blackpool based JRH Electrical supply high quality electrical installations to the construction industry throughout the UK. It puts commitment to its employees as one of its highest priorities and is dedicated to ensuring employees are happy and enthusiastic. The organisation has achieved Investor in People accreditation and continues to carry out a thorough appraisal system to maintain a high level of staff morale.
The Harris Walker Ltd Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award
Marie Marks (It’s My Party), Burnley
Burnley based It’s My Party is a unique venue offering a party experience for children. Housed in a regenerated 3 storey mill, the themed rooms are ‘Fame Academy’, with a state of the art disco and recording studio, ‘Tir Na Nog’, based on fairy tales and ‘K-Toon Capers Extreme’, entertainment in a Gotham City style metropolis.
Marie Marks, 23, Company Director has dedicated herself to making the business a success, spending two years re-generating the 12000sqft mill from the initial concepts to trying her hand at angle grinding!
The Leyland Trucks Lancashire Business of the Year Award
F Parkinson Ltd, Blackpool
Parkinson Building Contractor whose Head Office is in Blackpool, has an impressive reputation for being reliable and carrying out high quality work across a wide range of sectors including education, health, industrial, commercial, leisure and ecclesiastical. The company ensures it has a high level of in-house skills with a strong Apprentice and training policy. It prides its self in its outstanding health & safety record recently being awarded the British Safety Council International Safety Award.
Hosting the Awards Ceremony, Clive Memmott, Chief Executive of Business
Link Lancashire said, “This year’s competition has seen a record
number of outstanding entries from businesses across Lancashire. Tonight
we celebrate the commitment and success of all our winners and nominees
and I congratulate each and every business on its achievements.”
