SME


OF THE YEAR AWARD


SPONSORED BY


In summer 2010, Burghclere-based Phabrix was highlighted in the Thames Valley 250 as a company which was “One to Watch”.


It was clearly the right message because Phabrix, which designs, manufactures and distributes test and measurement equipment for the professional broadcast television market, was named SME of the Year, the award sponsored by leading accountants and business advisers James Cowper.


Judging criteria included current business performance, the potential for future growth and examples of innovation in products and services – something which Phabrix is extremely strong at.


The award judges described the company as “a business very much at the forefront of its sector” and added: “Through continual innovation of its cutting-edge products to meet fast changing demands on both a domestic and global level, this business has demonstrated rapid growth and excellent profit margins.”


Incorporated in 2005, Phabrix launched its first product in 2008 and, in the three years since then, has grown into a company with a £3.3 million turnover. Its leading-edge products have won a range of technology and industry awards; thanks to its USP as the only product in the market to cover all broadcast standards as standard, and its ability to deliver previously unattainable quality at an affordable price point.


The brand is now recognised worldwide, due in no small measure to the team’s regular participation in industry events. In 2010 alone,


www.businessmag.co.uk JAMES COWPER


Phabrix attended 10 international broadcast exhibitions and it also carries out marketing and advertising campaigns in many different languages, including Japanese, Chinese, German and Russian. Over 80% of its sales are to overseas markets via a network of distributors.


Creative director Erica Adams who was presented the award by Steve Clarke, managing partner, James Cowper (main picture) puts its success down to “having a small company way of doing lots of different things, and doing them quite successfully.”


“There are only 20 of us and we do everything – design and manufacture, sales and marketing, research and development, plus the shipping,” she said. “Some of our manufacturing is also done elsewhere. We use local Thames Valley companies, then the equipment comes back to us for testing and assembly, and we have excellent relationships with our suppliers.”


Staff training also figures highly on the agenda, with well over half of employees booked on a training course over the next six months.


Phabrix is already planning ahead for further expansion and has just secured a building in nearby Thatcham, which will enable it to grow to more than 50 employees over the next three years.


“Our strategy is to continue to grow and we are already putting things in place, such as the new building, to make that happen,” added Adams. “We might be small, but we have lots of ideas.”


Clarke said: “In a very short space of time, THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – DECEMBER 11/JANUARY 12


Phabrix has demonstrated that a combination of business acumen, product expertise and market knowledge, together with some brave decisions and determination to succeed can achieve tremendous results. They are clearly taking the broadcast world by storm and we wish them continued success.


“Overall, we were really impressed with the quality of the businesses that entered our SME of the Year Award category this year, which made our decisions for the shortlist extremely difficult.


“We would like to congratulate all of our finalists again and in particular our top three, all of which showed that, despite the current economic landscape, there are still opportunities for great SME businesses to prosper in our region.”


In second place was last year’s winner The Chemistry Group, specialists in building talented teams and ensuring clients get the most out of their staff. The award was presented to CEO Roger Philby (pictured top left). In third place was IT Talent Solutions, a leading IT recruitment firm, and the award was presented to Claudia Lawrence, director (bottom left).


Highly commended were: Eclipse Marketing, Well Pregnancy Products and Triteq.


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