Adam Bradley, managing director of Corrosion Resistant Materials Ltd in Rotherham, was among the businesses and individuals celebrating Business Person Of The Year at Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber’s Celebration of Business Awards, in association with Glu Recruit.
unLTD’s Dan Laver was lucky enough to have accompanied Adam and the team from Corrosion Resistant Materials and was with Adam as he heard the announcement. It crowns a hugely successful year for the business, during which they have not only celebrated a record year of growth, but also made significant effort to work with Rotherham schools and young people.
“Wow, what a great night at Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber of Commerce Celebration for Business”, Adam told us. “My heart was beating fast before my name was read out. It’s a truly humbling experience. I would never have imagined that one day I would win such a prestigious award and it means so much being born, raised and still living and working within the area.”
Corrosion Resistant Materials recently celebrated winning the Queens Award for Enterprise in International Trade with the visit of Lord-Lieutenant Dame Hilary Chapman to their site in Rotherham.
The company, founded in 2015 by owners Chris Williams and Lee Perry, won the award back in April for exceptional growth in export sales. Currently they supply over 70 different grades of materials into 38 countries worldwide and offer a full supply service including heat treatment, machining, testing, and forging.
Adam continued: “The event was extremely well organised, the food was delicious, the entertainment was world-class and the room was full of fantastic local businesses and people.
“Well done to all shortlisted and winning companies and individuals. You are all truly inspirational and deserve the recognition.
“A huge well done to our team member Jack Craven too. Well-deserved on your Highly Commended Award in the apprentice category.
“Thank you also to all the team at the Chamber and also at SHORTS for awarding me with Business Person of the Year.”
The glittering event took place at Magna and saw around 500 members of the local business community come together to create a party-like atmosphere, complete with its own light show, aerial dancers, fire eaters and much more. Hosted by Life on Mars and Emmerdale star Dean Andrews, the event saw nine awards presented on the evening, recognising the efforts of all aspects of the business community – from apprentices and new entrepreneurs taking the first tentative steps in their chosen vocations to businesses which have gone above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to staff development, customer service and growth.
SBD Apparel, which counts elite strength and fitness athletes across the world amongst its growing client base, as well as being synonymous with the World’s Strongest Man Competition, proved to be a worthy winner of the title of Business of the Year after successfully opening a new manufacturing hub at Rotherham’s Advanced Manufacturing Park.
The charity and not-for-profit sector were also rewarded, with all finalists and highly commended entrants receiving cash prizes to support their work. The overall title of Charity of the Year was presented to Rotherham Rise in recognition of its efforts to support victims of domestic abuse and child sexual exploitation.
Longstanding businesses were also recognised, for their commitment to supporting the local economy with certificates presented to HLM Architects (40 years), Rush House (40 years), Airmaster (30 years) and The Source Skills Academy (20 years), and special recognition was also given to four recipients of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise over the past twelve months: AESSEAL, Cooper Turner Beck, Corrosion Resistant Materials and Waterman Corporate Enterprises.
Joada Allen, president of Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber said: “I would like to congratulate every business who was shortlisted, highly commended, and won awards during our evening. It’s great to have our awards back and it was clear not only from the numbers of entries we received but the quality of the submissions that there has been some incredible work delivered by businesses in Barnsley & Rotherham and the wider region over the past 12 months.
“In business we must be brave enough to take a calculated risk, to sometimes fail and start again, but with the right mindset and support from organisations like the Chamber of Commerce, we can all play a part in building a brighter future for our region.”
