OUTSTANDING achievements of businesses across Northamptonshire have been recognised in the first King’s Awards for Enterprise.
The awards recognise achievements in innovation, international trade, sustainable development and promoting opportunity through social mobility.
His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenants will present the awards to businesses. The awards are valid for five years.
Three companies based in Northamptonshire will welcome the county’s HM Lord-Lieutenant James Saunders Watson to their premises to receive the award. The Alternative Pallet Company, known as Pallite Group and based in Wellingborough, has been awarded a King’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation for its innovative paper-based storage and racking warehousing system PIX which uses 80% recycled materials.
Daventry-based Brian James Trailers, which has a global reputation for its car transport and commercial trailers, is celebrating after receiving a King’s Awards for Enterprise in International Trade.
Chief executive Lewis James pictured below, grandson of business founder Brian James, said: “We are incredibly proud to receive one of the first King’s Award. It has been a tough few years with the pandemic, the extraordinary cost increase of raw materials and energy as well as export shipping costs, but despite this and thanks to our colleagues and business partners, we have ended up successfully navigating these choppy waters.”
Fulkrum Technical Services based in Corby which supplies staffing and services to support complex projects in the energy, engineering and construction industries, also won a King’s Award in the International Trade category.
Co-founder and commercial director Owen Gibbons said: “I am thrilled that we have been presented an award of this magnitude that recognises and celebrates our commitment to providing vital quality, health, safety and environmental services globally.
“We are honoured to have been personally approved for this award by His Majesty The King following a recommendation from the Prime Minister. We are delighted to have been recognised alongside so many fantastic businesses.”
Viridian International in Daventry main picture, top is a family run company specialising in the manufacture and sale of “effective, ethical and pure” health supplements. It is the third Northamptonshire company to receive an International Trade award.
The company’s founder and managing director Cheryl Thallon said: “It is a great honour to accept this award acknowledging not only the success of our team and customers, but also our ethical commitment to spreading health and happiness across the globe. King Charles has long championed organics and complementary medicine and we applaud his continued work in these and other fields.”
Cllr Daniel Lister, West Northamptonshire Council’s cabinet member for economic development, town centre regeneration and growth, said: “It is businesses like these that drive our economy forward and demonstrate what success looks like.”
The King’s Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious awards for UK businesses, with winning businesses able to use the esteemed King’s Awards Emblem for the next five years. The 2024 Awards will open for applications on May 6.
Minister for Enterprise Kevin Hollinrake said: “I congratulate the first ever recipients of The King’s Awards for Enterprise, who exemplify the talent, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit of British business. I wish them every success and commend the invaluable contributions they make to communities both at home and overseas, helping to grow the UK economy.”