The winter can mean only one thing for businesses across the country – awards season! We’ve been celebrating the very best in businesses in the Sheffield City Region – and last month unLTD were honoured to have been able to get in on the action!
Each year, businesses of all sizes and sectors compete to win big at the Sheffield Business Awards, and we at unLTD were thrilled to have made the shortlist for the Creative Impact Award this time around!
We were in great company too – also shortlisted with us were Peek & Poke, Bright Box Makerspace and the well-deserved winners Bond Bryan Architects.
Although we came home empty-handed, 2019 has still been an incredible year for our team at unLTD – we were shortlisted after hosting three successful events at both the Millennium Galleries and Virgin Money Lounge, celebrated our 20th print issue, welcomed our head of sales Dan Laver to the team and continued to showcase the most positive business developments our city region has to offer.
Hosted by the Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, the Sheffield Business Awards is one of the most prestigious events in the region. Now in its 18th year, the event is firmly established as the leading awards ceremony for Sheffield businesses.
For this year’s honours, more than 170 businesses applied for the chance to be shortlisted for 16 awards, which recognised excellence in areas such as innovation and international trading.
At the ceremony, which took place at Ponds Forge in December, our team enjoyed a night of food and drinks, brilliant entertainment and the opportunity to see the best in local business on display.
Boasting more than 850 attendees, the ceremony was presented by David Garrido from Sky Sports News whilst entertainment was provided by comedian Ian Moore. For the tenth year running, Elevation Recruitment Group were the headline sponsor for the event.
The judges said: “All the judges agreed it was a huge honour & pleasure to be presiding over such a collection of fantastic companies and individuals whose talents and achievements are showcased in the 2019 entries.
“While the judging decisions were very difficult, everyone who entered and those who are shortlisted, should be incredibly proud of their achievements.”
And the winners are…
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Best Contribution to Sheffield Visitor Experience, sponsored by Van Dyk by Wildes
Winner: The Milestone Group
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Excellence in International Trade, sponsored by Pricecheck
Winner: Loadhog Ltd
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SME of the Year, sponsored by Sheffield Business School
Winner: Eurosafe Solutions Limited
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Business Person of the Year, sponsored by Shorts Chartered Accountants
Winner: Alastair Morris, Pryor Marking Technology
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Excellence in Manufacturing, sponsored by Wake Smith
Winner: MGB Plastics
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The Innovation Award, sponsored by Lupton Fawcett
Winner: Pryor Marking Technology Ltd
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Creative Impact Award, sponsored by SIV
Winner: Bond Bryan Architects
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Excellence in Professional Services, sponsored by The Star
Winner: Shorts Chartered Accountants
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The Sheffield Universities Entrepreneurship Award
Winner: Mak Tok Limited
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Digital Transformation Project of the Year, sponsored by Insight
Winner: S4S (UK) Limited
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High Growth Business of the Year, sponsored by CT
Winner: Twinkl Educational Publishing
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The Special Recognition Award, sponsored by Spaces
Winner: The work-wise Foundation
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Employer of the Year, sponsored by The Sheffield College
Winner: Central Technology Ltd
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Large Business of the Year, sponsored by Hallam FM
Winner: Sheffield Forgemasters
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Excellence in Corporate, Social and Environmental Responsibility, sponsored by Evoluted
Winner: Regather Limited
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Outstanding Business of the Year, sponsored by City Taxis
Winner: Loadhog Ltd
Among the winners were our very own columnists Central Technology (CT), who took home the prize for Employer of the Year, while our friends at The Milestone Group, won Best Contribution to Sheffield Visitor Experience
Central Technology
MD Ian Snow said:
The last 18 months have been a real period of change and growth for CT, with a huge amount of thought, effort, and action taking place to provide an environment people want to come to work, a place where they can have a voice, support, and importantly, progress in their career.
We were so delighted that all the hard work we have put in was recognised at the prestigious business awards this month. It was an incredibly tough group but winning ‘Employer of the Year’ is a fantastic team achievement. We want people to know why it is great to work here.
Workers now want more than just a good job – they are also looking for somewhere that cares. For CT, that is caring about their health, wellbeing and work/life balance. Investing in talent development and ensuring the right training is available is of paramount importance here at CT but we also know the difference added benefits can make.
We have invested heavily into creating a new modern 11,000 sq ft functional office that provides a great working and social environment. We enlisted the Fitness Truck, a mobile fitness solutions company, which offers free weekly HIIT training to any of our staff who wants to get involved and get fit.
CT are absolutely committed to raising the awareness of mental health in our workplace. We have partnered with Champion Health and have become the first business in Sheffield to roll out a company-wide health assessment and mental health training programme.
We want to ensure that we were doing everything in our power to make sure the CT team are happy and healthy and to support them not just in their work life but also in their personal life. We want to ensure we have the information and training on hand in order to offer potentially critical guidance and support as and when needed.
We have also recently celebrated that a third of workforce is now women, smashing the national average (16 per cent). We are extremely proud of this balance and of the support and flexibility we provide many of the working mums here at CT. There is so much female talent out there, and we will continue to demonstrate, through our own role models, the opportunities for a rewarding career.
We now need to continue to do the best for our team and continue to build our profile to ensure we continue to attract high calibre applicants to join our team to help us to continually improve the service we offer.”
The Milestone Group
Group Commercial Business Manager, Beth Green, attended the Sheffield Business Awards on behalf of The Milestone Group.
Beth said:
“We are delighted to announce our success in the Best Contribution to Sheffield Visitor Experience category, sponsored by Van Dyk by Wildes.
“We are honoured and thrilled to have been shortlisted in this category, let alone win! It is a great achievement for the group, and it really reflects our ethos of high service and standards. We continue to deliver excellent service and new ideas, to keep things fresh and inclusive for our guests.
“The category was fiercely contested, with fantastic entries from Sheffield Theatres Trust, Yorkshire Wildlife Park and SIVLive.
“The award recognises an individual, organisation, charity, scheme, project or event that has achieved excellence in their individual sector area, as well as looking for activities that link events in the city to tourism & hospitality.
“We loved the awards night, which consisted of a sparkling drinks reception, an exceptional three course meal, celebrity host, first class entertainment and a fantastic atmosphere. This combined with shortlisted companies, sponsors and partners and the city’s ‘great and good’, ensure a glittering evening and a fantastic networking opportunity.
“So, what’s next? We want to continue to think and create outside the box, be innovative, challenge expectations and be one step ahead of the trends, putting our own unique Sheffield stamp on everything we do. Watch this space!”
Doncaster Business Awards
South Yorkshire’s success wasn’t just limited to Sheffield either, as Doncaster Chamber of Commerce hosted their Doncaster Business Awards:
The winners of the 21st annual Doncaster Business Awards, sponsored by Doncaster College and University Centre, were announced in December during a prestigious awards ceremony at Doncaster Racecourse.
The black-tie evening organised by Doncaster Chamber saw more than 900 guests from the local business community recognise and celebrate the high calibre of work that firms are performing across the borough and beyond.
Dan Fell, CEO, Doncaster Chamber said: “Once again our Doncaster Business Awards have been a huge success and are testament to the high calibre of work being done across the borough and beyond. We really do have a lot of success stories to shout about with Doncaster increasingly being recognised as a great place to do business.
“Congratulations to all of the winners and runners-up who were very deserving of their awards. Despite the current national climate of uncertainty caused by Brexit, businesses like these are giving Doncaster every opportunity to continue to thrive and grow.”
And the winners are:
Lifetime Achievement Award
Winner: Nadeem Shah
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Rising Star - Sponsored by Doncaster College and University Centre
Winner: Jane Byers-Woods – VolkerRail
Runner Up: Katie Livcock - Institution
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Excellence in People Development - Sponsored by ORB Recruitment
Winner: Unipart Rail
Runner Up: Polypipe
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Excellence in Corporate, Social and Environmental Responsibility - Sponsored by REMONDIS Doncaster Ltd
Winner: Curly’s Athletes Ltd
Runner Up: VolkerRail
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Success through Partnerships - Sponsored by Ellgia Limited
Winner: People Focused Group
Runner Up: Cast
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Business and Education Partnership - Sponsored by Opportunities Doncaster and SCR Enterprise Adviser Network
Winner: Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals
Runner Up: Pegler
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Marketing Campaign of the Year - Sponsored by HSR Law
Winner: Doncaster Racecourse
Runner Up: Club Doncaster
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Success through Innovation - Sponsored by Pegler Group Yorkshire Ltd
Winner: Nathaniel Carter & McSkelly Auctioneers Limited (NCM Auctions)
Runner Up: World Feeds Limited
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Excellence in Customer Service - Sponsored by Atherton Godfrey LLP
Winner: NatWest Business Banking Doncaster
Runner Up: St Leger Homes of Doncaster
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Third Sector Organisation of the Year - Sponsored by Investors in Community
Winner: People Focused Group
Runner Up: Active Fusion
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Business Start Up of the Year - Sponsored by Unipart Rail
Winner: ORB Recruitment
Runner Up: Navy Professional Limited
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SME Business of the Year - Sponsored by Wilkin Chapman Business Solutions
Winner: DigitalXRAID Ltd
Runner Up: Ecoefficiency Ltd
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Large Business of the Year - Sponsored by Keebles LLP
Winner: Polypipe
Runner Up: VolkerRail
After dishing out the trophies for the town’s businesses, Doncaster Chamber also got to take home a trophy of their own – on the national stage!
At this years’ British Chamber of Commerce Business Awards 2019, Doncaster Chamber was awarded the Chamber of the Year – the highest accolade a Chamber of Commerce can win.
The awards, now in their 16th year, highlight the role of business in delivering growth and prosperity for the UK and local communities.
Dan Fell, Chief Executive at Doncaster Chamber, said: “As a Chamber our vision has always been ‘to be the best Chamber of Commerce in the UK’. This award proves our dedication, ambition and drive to support the growth of local businesses, both big and small, and the growth of the borough overall as a thriving place to live, work and do business.
“I am thrilled that Doncaster Chamber has won this award. It’s testament to the hard work of our fantastic team, our board and our 700 Chamber members, without their support we wouldn’t be able to do half the great work we aim to do to make a difference in Doncaster.
Sarah Howard, Chair of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said: “The engagement of Doncaster Chamber with its members and external businesses embodies the mission of Chambers of Commerce everywhere.
“The Chambers’ efforts to improve member services and the development of Opportunities Doncaster is a testament to their dedication. Congratulations to the entire Doncaster team, truly worthy recipients of this award.”
