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Thames Valley companies win Queen's Awards
The Farnborough company Optasense was a double winner in this year’s Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, being honoured in both the International Trade and Innovation categories.
The group, which began trading only seven years ago, provides oil and gas pipeline monitoring services and equipment, hydraulic fracture monitoring, seismic services, oil well optimisation services and transport monitoring.
Now with a staff of 122, it has managed international growth over the past three years, recently opening up a number of new markets in China and Columbia plus offices in Dubai, America and Australia. Its Innovation award was for developing acoustic sensors, while it has also invested in a development site to provide demonstrations of its ground- breaking technology.
International trade
Eight other companies from the region were honoured in this class. CSB Holdings, based at Slough, has been established since 1989 as a systems and consulting company for the construction, contracting and allied industries. In the past six years it has deployed systems in 40 countries.
One of the smallest award winners was Kiln Flame Systems of High Wycombe, which has a staff of just 10. Established in 1999, it designs and builds combustion systems for rotary kilns, and in recent years has made a strategic decision to enter into design and build products.
Oxford Technologies was a commercial spin-off of an internationally respected research body. Based at Abingdon since 2000, offering engineering consultancy services for nuclear fusion technology applications, it remains 100% owned by its staff of 26.
Another small company with just 13 employees is Leverton Clarke at Basingstoke, which
manufactures and sells speciality chemicals primarily focused on lithium derivative salts. Formed in 1976, it began exporting in 2007 and now sells to 28 countries.
Oxford Immunotec, based at Milton Park with 130 staff, began trading 10 years ago to produce a test for the identification of tuberculosis, which has proved a major improvement over the antiquated skin test. It recorded export earnings growth of 1,300% over six years.
The Guildford-based Prime Vigilance is another example of small being beautiful. Established five years ago and now with a staff of 12, it has recorded overseas earnings growth of 173% over the past three years. The company provides pharmacovigilance and medical information services for pharmaceutical groups.
SecurEnvoy at Theale has just 10 staff after being founded 11 years ago. It uses its invention of a business grade, commercial chip-and-pin authentication solution for the Internet. Its award was for outstanding growth in overseas sales earnings to 52 countries over the past three years.
A company founded at Aldermaston in 1984, now with 30 staff, won its award for exporting hotel operating supplies such as bathroom toiletries, bed and bath linen. Sysco Guest Supply Europe earned outstanding sales growth over the past three years, entering nine new markets.
Innovation
Emulate 3D at Reading, which has just seven employees, was one of five companies in the region to win an award in the Innovation section. It was for developing novel software used by control engineers for services used in distribution centres, airport baggage handling and postal sorting.
Another software developer honoured was Gold-i at Guildford, which has 20 staff. Its
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – JUNE 2014
software is a new product that gives retail brokers the same trading tools as international brokers but at a fraction of the cost.
Softbox Systems at Aylesbury is rewarded for the continuous development of its range of temperature controlled packaging used in the healthcare sector for the global distribution of pharmaceutical products. It employs 55 staff.
The award for Chertsey-based Stanhope-Seta follows one for International Trade two years ago. Established over 50 years ago, it designs and manufactures petroleum test equipment and quality control instruments, as well as serving the pharmaceutical, confectionery, cosmetics and plastics industries.
Sonardyne International at
Yateley, near Camberley, was founded in 1971 to improve the safety and efficiency of underwater navigation. With a staff of 275 it operates in over 50 countries and annually invests over $10 million in research and development.
Sustainable development
Two Thames Valley companies gained the Queen’s Award in this category. ClimateCare Oxford, with just 13 employees, was honoured for outstanding contribution to poverty alleviation and tackling climate change. It undertakes projects to deliver environmental, health, economic and social benefits in 25 countries.
Berkeley Group Holdings at Cobham, which also won this award in 2008, was rewarded for five years of continuous achievement in developing activities which ensure “a better quality of life for everyone, now and in generations to come”. Over the past 10 years it has delivered over 48,000 new homes.
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