Five Bath area firms are today celebrating winning the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, the UK’s most prestigious business accolade.
The five very different businesses – Rocketmakers, Wessex Water Services, Wolf and Wild, Bath Ales (through its owner St Austell’s Brewery) and Coombe Castle International – are among 230 companies from across the UK to receive the award this year.
Winners have been recognised for their contribution to four main categories – international trade, innovation, sustainable development and promoting opportunity.
A record 152 companies, from industries including agricultural technology, innovative software and healthcare, received awards for international trade.
Bath-based software design firm Rocketmakers won an Innovation Award in recognition for demonstrating outstanding results, particularly for its development of the Performance Development Management System (PDMS).
The firm, which has helped a wide range of start-ups and industry giants launch disruptive technology products, launched PDMS in 2014 in partnership with the English Institute of Sport (EIS) and it has since been adopted by more than 75% of the UK’s national sporting bodies as a tool for monitoring and managing athlete performance and helping avoid injury.
PDMS’ strengths include its ability to capture the high-quality athlete data, which is presented to coaches and medical staff in formats that encourage insights to emerge.
It was widely used by British athletes at the recent Commonwealth Games in Australia, where the England team won 136 medals, second in the table to hosts Australia.
CEO Richard Godfrey said: “Winning the Queen’s Award is an enormous honour for Rocketmakers, and real validation of the hard work we have been doing for the last decade. We would like to thank our partners at the English Institute of Sport, and the athletes that use PDMS every day, for giving us the opportunity to work with them.
“It is a real thrill for us whenever an athlete we are helping has a winning performance – today it feels like we’ve won our own world championship.”
Bath-based gift designer and retailer Wild & Wolf, which recently moved into prestigious, newly-completed offices in the city centre, and Melksham-based cheese exporter Coombe Castle International, were among the businesses to collect awards for their contribution to international trade.
Wild & Wolf has enjoyed global success since its launch in Bath 12 years ago with its products now sold in more than 60 countries worldwide.
The firm, which employs more than 150 people globally, works with global brands such as Ted Baker, Orla Kiely and Ridley’s Games to design products ranging from keyrings and mugs to gardening tools that are sold in boutique independent retailers such as Bloomsbury and large multiple retailers including John Lewis and Boots.
CEO Paul Taylor said: “We’ve experienced tremendous growth in our international trade, particularly in the last three years. Once a predominantly UK-driven business, by the end of 2018 two thirds of our business will be outside of the UK, with the USA being our single biggest market.
“We hope that winning this award will further drive prosperous international growth in markets such as Asia and in the EU. This coveted award is testament to the fantastic team we have here at Wild & Wolf, and we’re proud of our contribution in raising the global profile of great British design.”
Last year Wild & Wolf was acquired by D C Thomson, publisher of The Beano and The Dandy, in a move that has accelerated its expansion.
Coombe Castle International’s award is its fourth – testament to its strong track record in supplying an extensive range of dairy products to markets across the world. It exports British and Irish cheese, cream and butter to more than 20 countries as far apart as Japan, South Africa and Mexico.
Its traditional cheeses – ranging from brie and stilton to cheddar – are enjoyed in restaurants across North America, while it exports goats butter to discerning Germans and its cream is a major part of cafe society in South Korea.
Wessex Water Services, based at Claverton, has collected its third Queen’s Award for Sustainable Development, having previously gained recognition in 2008 and 2013. In the past it has been praised for “embedding sustainability throughout its management and operations” by judges for the Queen’s Awards and for adopting a climate change adaption plan.
Further underlining its innovative approach to sustainability, Wessex was the first UK utility company to develop water catchment management agreements with farmers – a move that significantly reducing contamination from pesticides.
St Austell Brewery, which took over Bath Ales in 2016, also tasted success with the Award for Sustainable Development.
It said its new state-of-the-art Bath Ales brewery at Warmley, which opens next month, would further boost its sustainable approach to its business.
The firm, which also owns 178 pubs and hotels across the South West, has significantly reduced water consumption through investments in research and development, while energy saving measures and use of renewables enabled its central distribution centre to go grid-free for half of 2016. Some 98% of the firm’s waste is now diverted from landfill and it also uses local, ethical suppliers.
Chief executive James Staughton said: “To us, sustainability is now second nature, as it should be with any organisation and this award isn’t just about the honour and prestige; just as important is the added insight it can offer towards the futureproofing of the business.”
Congratulating he winners, Business Secretary Greg Clark said: “The UK has some of the most entrepreneurial and innovative minds in the world delivering jobs, growth and greater choice for consumers and I am proud to see these businesses being recognised today.
“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy — 99% of UK firms are small and over 1,000 new businesses start every day.”
