20 SMEof the Year sponsored by James Cowper Kreston
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) now came under the spotlight as sponsor’s representative Robert Holland, managing partner of accountants and business advisers James Cowper Kreston, approached the stage to announce the evening’s second winner.
The judges were looking for the best Solent SME that had demonstrated strong business performance, growth potential, innovation, and great business practices.
Seven magnificent SMEs contested the prized title: Aqua Cooling, Eric Robinson Solicitors, Flexi-lets, Morgan Innovation & Technology, NA Curtain Walling, Precision Creative & Media, and The Highfield Company.
Holland revealed that the judges had selected Aqua Cooling as their 2015 winner, based on its ‘journey’.
“The business has grown to become a profitable, multi-million turnover company with a clientbase which now features a number of blue-chip, household names. The company displayed a continued drive for innovation, achieved an impressive rate of growth while managing to make considerable contributions to the local community and to the ongoing development of its staff.”
Based in Fareham, Aqua Cooling is a leading provider of industrial and process cooling solutions – from water chillers to critical data centre cooling systems – that serve a variety of manufacturing, agricultural and commercial industry sectors. Aqua Cooling also has York offices and a sister company in Dallas, Texas.
Kevin Lancaster, Aqua Cooling managing director, received the award and thanked his winning SME workforce: “The important thing for us is that we have built a great team of talented people. For any company it’s the people who work for you who are the important part, because they make your success. So, thanks guys.”
Aqua Cooling thrives, said Lancaster, because its skilled, knowledgeable and versatile team, with origins in process cooling, fully understands its clients’ needs. “We do the interpretation and come up with the solutions.“
Luck can play a part in an SME’s ‘journey’, Lancaster admitted. “But we take that luck and make it into something.” It did that with creation of its patented Leak Prevention System for data centre cooling that now sells globally, and recently helped Aqua Cooling gain a Queen's Award for Innovation.
www.businessmag.co.uk
Top left: Kevin Lancaster, Aqua Cooling managing director (third from left), collects the winning trophy from Sally Taylor and Robert Holland (second from left) of sponsor James Cowper Kreston.
Top right: Second place goes to Highfield. Above: Morgan Innovation & Technology celebrates in third.
“Alongside tonight’s award, it’s fantastic publicity for our company, which is important because we are now doing more work in America. They may not have heard of Aqua Cooling, but they know who the Queen is.”
Second-placed was Southampton company Highfield, formed during the recession by four people working from a house basement, but with the vision of creating a high-calibre specialist recruitment business, focusing on construction, energy and engineering sectors. It’s now growing fast with a team of 22.
Third was Petersfield-based Morgan Innovation & Technology. Founded in 1987, the company has developed innovative products across various industry sectors – taking projects from pioneering idea to tangible manufacture. Its flagship is the Neurotherm range of lesion generators for pain relief.
Highly Commended went to Southampton-based Eric Robinson Solicitors, whose ‘Ask Eric’ initiative has familiarised legal services while helping the firm open new offices in Winchester and Lymington, increase turnover by 13% and profitability by 32%; Farnborough- based quality serviced apartment provider Flexi-lets; Horndean- headquartered NA Curtain Walling which specialises in curtain walling and building envelope installation and maintenance; and Fareham-based Precision Creative & Media, a full-service digital, print and broadcast creative and media agency.
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – NOVEMBER 2015
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