Rhondda Cynon Taf businesses celebrated their achievements at the annual Business Club Gala Awards and Dinner evening.
Nick Hewer, the mentor from the successful TV show The Apprentice and television favourite Sara Edwards were the guests of honour at this year’s Rhondda Cynon Taf Business Club Awards.
They got the evening into full swing and helped celebrate the talent, innovation and success that led to this year’s winners securing their awards.
Held at the Heritage Park Hotel in Trehafod, the Gala Awards and Dinner evening is now in its fourth year and is organised to celebrate and share best practice, while also enabling firms of all sizes to put themselves forward for the spotlight.
The evening is just as much about inspiring all businessesas it is about celebrating the success and achievements of the winners, which this year were:
• Bilingual Business of the Year, in association with Bwrdd Yr Iaith Gymraeg/The Welsh Language Board – Job Trac Cymru, is based in Pontypridd and specialises in Welsh language recruitment and is testimony to the fact that Welsh is increasingly a force in the workplace. Job Trac Cymru provides links to language refresher courses, free CV writing, links to translation and other language services. It also offers language testing and has a website dedicated to Welsh speaking jobs. This year it also launched a specialist health and safety training service for employers in Welsh.
• Environmental Business of the Year, in association with L’Oreal UK – Eden Shelving, which is based in Hirwaun and submitted an impressive entry that strongly illustrated its commitment to the environment and sustainable business practices. The company has sustainability and the reduction of its environmental impact at the heart of what it does. Specialising in the manufacture of shelving systems for the retail sector, Eden employs 61 people and has an environmental improvement programme that runs across all departments to reduce use of paper, gas, water and electricity. Its carbon emissions have fallen, as have its use of landfill and the production and waste of steel. Clydach Vale-based HSW Print was highly commended in this category. It has nine in-house departments providing a full customer service from artwork development through to printing, finishing, delivery, storage and nationwide mailing. HSW Print was hailed as a credible runner-up in a very strong category of the awards.
• Rhondda Cynon Taf Business of the Year and Innovative Company of the Year, in association with Heads of the Valleys Programme– DecTek Ltd, based on the Treforest Industrial Estate. Already commended in recent years for its use of the internet and innovative marketing to ensure it has a European profile, Dectek caught the eye of judges this year for its model example of cutting edge product development via market research, testing, development and partnership working. Dectek has secured industry confidence in the reliability, quality and effectiveness of its product, which is set to revolutionise the world of Radio Frequency ID logistical asset tracking.
• International Company of the Year, in association with Markes International – Asbri Golf, based on the Maritime Industrial Estate and a winning entry which was born out of Wales’ successful bid to host the 2010 Ryder Cup. Asbri currently supplies over 475 UK stockists and exports to 20 countries worldwide. They used their design background and experience to develop and distribute sporting products and accessories, securing Asbri Golf as the contract for Ryder Cup 2010 official licensee.
• Excellence in Marketing, in association with the Chartered Institute of Marketing – Ethos Creative, based in Llantrisant. The company has secured contracts for the likes of All Natural Juice, British Gas and Bafta Cymru among others and is set to stand among Wales’ leading marketing and PR agencies as it continues to grow. Louise Worth Business Development, a new start-up firm based in Pontypridd was also highly commended in this category for the services it offers, providing a broad range of marketing, product management and staff training support that meets the needs of clients.
• People Development Company of the Year, in association with the Local Investment Fund South East Wales – Talk Training Ltd, which is based in Nantgarw and is fast becoming the market leader in the delivery of Government-funded training programmes, as well as its commitment to the training of its own managers and staff. This has led to better morale, better staff retention, reduced absenteeism, a ready acceptance of change across the company and a clear vision from all employees of the organisation’s overall goals. Tubex Ltd, based in Aberaman Industrial Estate, was commended in this category for is clever use of business support structures and staff organisation to up-skill its workforce during a short period on the factory floor. This has led to tangible benefits and has led to a skilled, motivated and committed workforce that contributes to the company’s success.
• Business Start-up of the Year, in association with Venture Wales – Techsol UK Ltd, which is based on Navigation Park in.Abercynon It secured the award for its firm grasp on the development, branding and placement of their product. Techsol UK Ltd offers itself as a complete engineering and product development partner for the support of introducing new products to the market. It offers an exceptional approach to problem-solving and design-led manufacture and its key services include a full product design cycle, protyping, problem diagnostics, consultation and market research and development. Paramount Recruitment Wales, based in Pontypridd, was highly commended in this category for its strong brand and good reputation as it delivers a professional recruitment consultancy service, specialising in temporary and permanent recruitment across a range of industry sectors.
Cllr Paul Cannon, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Housing, said: “Congratulations to all our winners and runners up in the 2010 Business Club Awards!
“Credit must be given to all applicants as the standard of their entries was very high and drove up the level of the overall competition, meaning there were many strong contenders this year.
“In these difficult economic times, it is important for us to seek inspiration and motivation in order to drive us towards the future and I hope the success of the businessesrecognized by the awards have inspired others to do the same.
“They also serve as testament that Rhondda Cynon Taf has a lot to be proud of and we remain ready for business.
“The Council’s Business Support Team helps to run the Business Club and also offers a range of services and interventions to assist local enterprises and I hope this work can continue.”
