Now in its 19th year, the Hampshire Business Awards are the annual search for Hampshire’s brightest business talent and last night saw over 100 attendees from the local business community gather to celebrate the cream of the crop. Industrial and domestic environmental waste management company, Cleansing Service Group won the Bond Pearce Innovation Award; pyrotechnics and countermeasures manufacturers, Chemring Group plc won KPMG Company of the Year and electronic manufacturing services provider, ACW Technology won RBS Management Team of the Year.

Game Group plc’s Lisa Morgan was also honoured for her Outstanding Contribution to Hampshire business. Lisa became the CEO of Game Group in January 2007, having previously held roles at the company over a 12 year period. During her tenure, Game has changed dramatically from a very specialist games retailer into a major household name with mass market appeal.

The Daily Echo-backed awards, sponsored by Bond Pearce, KPMG and The Royal Bank of Scotland are the county’s business version of the Oscars and have become a staple in the region’s business community’s calendar. Who won what? The Bond Pearce Innovation Award was presented to Cleansing Service Group (CSG). Celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, CSG is one of Hampshire’s longest-established companies and has 19 sites, stretching from Cornwall to Kent and Manchester in the North.

Nick Page, Chairman of Bond Pearce, said, “CSG stood out as the winner for their three innovative processes introduced in the last year to recover or recycle valuable components from waste. Its clear support of the environment was a key factor in our decision. The business has proved that innovation is alive and well in Hampshire, which is exactly what we set out to demonstrate and celebrate.” Runners up for the Bond Pearce Innovation Award were Chemring Group plc and PrimerDesign.

Chemring Group won KPMG Company of the Year. Chemring is a global group of companies that specialises in the manufacture of energetic material products and decoy countermeasures. Phil Cotton, senior partner at KPMG said, “The Whitely-based defence firm is a world leader in expendable countermeasures and has shown business excellence in a niche market. The business has delivered a sustained growth rate of over 40% per year since 2005 and is deserving of the Company of the Year accolade.” Runners up for KPMG Company of the Year were Cleansing Service Group and Dyer & Butler.

ACW Technology, an established electronic manufacturing services provider (EMS) founded in 1989 and based in Southampton with facilities in South Wales and China, won RBS Management Team of the Year.

Dan Salanson, Head of Corporate Banking for RBS in the Solent, commented, “The RBS Management Team of the Year Award aims to highlight teams that have shown leadership, drive and commitment, along with the ability to think and plan ahead. ACW Technology has demonstrated these characteristics and is an example of a well-managed, profitable and highly successful business. Its management team has demonstrated strategic planning, flexibility, problem solving and a willingness to invest in its staff, its processes and its facilities.” Runners up for RBS Management Team of the Year were Cleansing Service Group and Dyer & Butler.

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This is a new award category launched this year and looks to recognise a team of individuals whose commitment, insight and willingness to embrace change has effected positive change within a business.

“We are aware of the wealth of strong management teams in the region and the new category looks to bring these to the fore and celebrate them at this year’s ceremony,” said Dan Salanson, Head of Corporate Banking for RBS in the Solent. “With tougher trading conditions prevailing, the presence of a high calibre strategic management team is essential. It is often during times of more challenging circumstances that the strength and adaptability of a management team comes to light. Factors such as market knowledge and creative ideas coupled with a management team that has the full support and backing of staff throughout its organisation, become ever more crucial to assist a business and help drive it forward.

“This category attracted some very impressive submissions and during the judging process, we were looking out for examples of leadership, drive and commitment, along with the ability to think and plan ahead. The three finalists are ACW Technology, Cleansing Service Group and Dyer & Butler who have demonstrated a clear track record of delivering positive change over recent years'”.

First of the three finalists is ACW Technology Ltd, an established electronic manufacturing services provider (EMS) founded in 1989 and based in Hedge End, Southampton with facilities in South Wales and China. Under the leadership of dynamic founder and executive chairman Chris Woods, managing director, Owen Reeves and the company’s wider management team, ACW has achieved consistent success in maintaining a profitable electronics manufacturing capability within the UK over the last 20 years. With a 460 strong team of highly skilled employees, matched by world-class manufacturing facilities, ACW has expertise in all areas of manufacturing, engineering, sourcing, repair and logistics and acts as a complete end-to-end manufacturing service provider for customers in commercial, industrial, aerospace and defence markets. The company produces 750 different product variants and last year dispatched nearly half a million products for its customers including high definition TV broadcast equipment, military radio, scientific instrumentation aircraft cockpit controls and security equipment.

ACW is an example of a profitable, well-managed, innovative and highly successful Hampshire-based business. Its management team consistently demonstrates strategic thinking/planning, flexibility, problem solving and a willingness to invest in its staff, its processes and its facilities. The team’s ability to stimulate team loyalty and a company-wide desire to provide the best service possible has ultimately seen ACW thrive as an EMS provider in the market today.

Industrial and domestic environmental waste management company, Cleansing Service Group (CSG), is the second of the finalists. One of Hampshire’s oldest companies, CSG is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. The company has 19 sites, stretching from Cornwall to Kent and Manchester in the North and was founded by a Hampshire man, Mr Bunny Hart, whose Hampshire Cleansing Service went into business emptying cesspits in the Southampton area. In January 2006 a new Managing Director, Paul Quigley, was appointed following the retirement of the previous incumbent and was charged by the board to develop a business strategy to take the company forward over the next five years. Underpinning the strategic thinking of the plan was a recognition of the growing concern about the environment and especially the fact that a considerable range of increasingly tough environmental legislation governing waste disposal continues to force business in virtually all sectors to manage its wastes as efficiently as any other part of the production process.

The current executive management team which is implementing the strategy is made up of just four people – managing director, Paul Quigley; operations director, Steve Pashley; finance director, Brian Dollen and processing director, Neil Richards. The targets set for the key business development areas identified in the business plan have been exceeded every year for the first three years of the five year plan – 2006 to 2008.

Dyer & Butler, a Southampton-based construction company, is the third finalist in this category. Established 30 years ago, the company manages its operations from the head office in Southampton supported by a network of local offices throughout Southern and South West England and South Wales. Dyer & Butler generates a sizable proportion of its turnover from projects carried out in Hampshire for clients such as Hampshire County Council, Network Rail and Associated British Ports.

Under the direction of Paul Hobbs, Managing Director; John Davies, Finance Director; Neil Edwards, Commercial Director; Steve Jayne and Jon Whitehouse, Operations Directors the management team has successfully maintained a profitable company despite the current economic market and ensures the company has a consistent rate of organic growth. Following the successful establishment of new regional operations in South West England and South Wales, Dyer & Butler has opened two new offices to open up opportunities in the Home Counties, London and the South East area. Building on the successful presence over the past 15 years in the rail and airport sectors the company continues to develop new opportunities in these sectors and to secure contracts with new clients. Dyer & Butler continues to seek opportunities within Hampshire and has this year been successful in securing long-term framework arrangements with both Hampshire County Council and Southampton City Council.

Training and development is a key focus within the company and the management team has committed to considerable investment in both time and money to ensure the correct systems are in place to identify exact training needs and to provide the training relative to the requirements of the post held.

The winners of the Hampshire Business Awards will be announced on 8th October at the awards dinner, which this year is being held at the luxury Chewton Glen Country House Hotel in New Milton.

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This award category looks for the best overall business and at every aspect of how a company is run from its staffing through to its financing. Key elements that the judges were looking for include a strong financial track record, the ability to think strategically, keep abreast of new developments and illustrate plans for future growth. While financial performance was a key element, aspects such as a business having a great idea, product or service, with the right people in place to leverage it were also important factors.

Phil Cotton, senior partner at KPMG’s South Coast office, explains further, “This award recognises those companies that have achieved all-round business excellence in their products, services, results and strategic direction. Entries this year were particularly impressive in this category and we’re pleased to announce the three finalists - Chemring Group plc, Cleansing Service Group and Dyer & Butler.”

Last year’s winner of this award was Raymond Brown Minerals & Recycling. The Nursling-based company supplies materials to the construction industry from its own quarries, collects and recycles by-products of construction, and operates landfill sites.

Phil commented, “Raymond Brown Minerals and Recycling stood out as last year’s winner for its clear commercial strategy and business practices which have the added benefit of enhancing and protecting Hampshire’s environment.”

First of the three finalists is Chemring Group, which develops and manufactures chaff and flare countermeasures to protect military aircraft and ships from the ever-increasing threat of guided missiles. Chemring is now the world leader in expendable countermeasures thanks to both its internal research and development, and targeted acquisitions over the last 20 years.

Over the last four years Chemring has transformed its business from the leading player in the niche countermeasures market into a multi-domestic defence business operating in four market segments with 21 sites in eight countries. Through its strategy of well-targeted acquisitions, Chemring has built high margin niche positions in the global Pyrotechnics, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and Munitions markets. These markets have a combined value of well over £13bn per year.

Second of the finalists is industrial and domestic environmental waste management company, Cleansing Service Group (CSG). Celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, CSG is one of Hampshire’s longest-established companies and has 19 sites, stretching from Cornwall to Kent and Manchester in the North. It has recently experienced one of its most successful periods in its long history during which it has grown to become a significant national operator with a blue chip client base and a reputation for technical innovation.

The company has introduced three innovative processes to recover or recycle valuable components from waste in the last year. It supports the environment by reducing and minimising waste-related environmental degradation, promoting sustainable waste management practices throughout the sectors in which it operates and conserving finite natural resources with a view to their re-use.

Dyer & Butler is the third finalist in this category and is a construction company founded in Southampton in 1979. The company manages its operations from the head office in Southampton supported by a network of local offices throughout Southern and South West England and South Wales. Dyer & Butler generates a sizable proportion of its turnover in Hampshire from clients such as Hampshire County Council, Southampton City Council and Associated British Ports.

The company delivered a 20% growth in turnover in its last financial year without affecting the profitability of the company. The company’s objective is to convert good ideas from within the organisation into new and improved services, processes, systems and relationships, to the benefit of clients. Staff at D&B work closely with clients to drive down costs by introducing new techniques and materials.

The Hampshire Business Awards are sponsored by national commercial law firm Bond Pearce, business advisors KPMG and The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and the winners will be announced on 8th October at the awards dinner, which this year is being held at the luxury Chewton Glen Country House Hotel in New Milton.

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This award category has a history of revealing some of the county’s most exciting businesses yet interestingly, it is not just about technology and scientific wizardry. Previous winners have been recognised for successfully transforming the everyday workings of their teams and organisations. It is often the case that companies are not always aware just how innovative they are being.

“We are delighted to announce the three finalists this year - Chemring Group plc, Cleansing Service Group and PrimerDesign. Innovation is definitely alive and well in Hampshire, which is exactly what we set out to prove and celebrate,” said Nick Page, Chairman of Bond Pearce.

Last year’s winner was Isle of Wight-based Milmega, a specialist design and manufacturer of high power, solid state amplifiers, for its innovative range of products launched in 2007 after a year long development programme. Nick commented, “By combining genuine innovation with market leading business leadership, Milmega continues a proud tradition of global leadership on the Isle of Wight.”

First of the three finalists is Chemring Group, who develop and manufacture chaff and flare countermeasures to protect military aircraft and ships from the ever-increasing threat of guided missiles. Building on both internal research and development, and targeted acquisitions over the last 20 years, Chemring is now the world leader in expendable countermeasures. The business’s innovation process is driven by market intelligence and its strong relationships with its customers. It has not only rapidly developed and qualified new, advanced countermeasures, but has scaled up manufacturing capacity to produce and deliver these flares in high volumes.

Chemring operates a Foresight process to anticipate the likely evolution of guided missile threats over an extended timescale of over ten years. This underpins early stage “blue sky” research into new materials, designs and even fundamentally new approaches to protecting aircraft. Early stage research is conducted internally and also in conjunction with leading universities. In an innovative partnership, Chemring is working with Cranfield University on a number of academic research projects, including PhD studies into countermeasures and computer modelling.

Second of the finalists is industrial and domestic environmental waste management company, Cleansing Service Group (CSG). One of Hampshire’s longest-established companies, CSG was founded in 1934 and has 19 sites, stretching from Cornwall to Kent and Manchester in the North. The company has introduced three innovative processes to recover or recycle valuable components from waste in the last year, one of which is the development of a process to recover non-ferrous metals of a high purity, in particular nickel, from waste solutions generated mainly by the plating industry.

Although it has been possible for many years to recover valuable metals from solution, the process is difficult with only low percentages of quantity and purity being possible. The result is that, after the minimum of treatment, much of it finishes up in hazardous or non-hazardous landfill.

The plant built to develop and prove the technology puts the waste solution through a pioneering multi-stage pre-treatment chemical process before conventional electrolysis is employed to plate out the nickel. Results have shown the new method consistently delivers viable amounts of nickel of 99.9% purity. The company expects the facility to be in full production in the very near future.

CSG believes it is important for the increasingly fragile environment that as much as possible of this valuable metal bearing waste, which has recently been re-classified as hazardous by the Environment Agency, is recycled and doesn’t finish up in landfill sites, or is disposed of illegally. The current installation has concentrated on recovering nickel but it will be duplicated if it is decided to use the technology to recover other metals from waste such as copper.

PrimerDesign is the third finalist in this category and an innovative company that produces DNA detection kits based on real time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technology. PCR technology, in simple terms, is a method of amplifying DNA. The ability to transform a minute amount of a specific DNA target into a large amount is a crucial research tool but can also be used for diagnostic purposes. The PrimerDesign team recently developed a Swine Flu detection kit that specifically and quickly amplified the Mexican H1N1 Swine Flu DNA. Amplification is monitored by fluorescent output and if a sample is taken from a patient and the kit gives a positive fluorescent signal then a positive diagnosis can be made.

The PrimerDesign kit gives a result in two hours as opposed to the three day process that was previously in place. The company began in the SETsquared Business Incubation centre based at the University of Southampton. The Centre provided PrimerDesign with business support through a mentorship programme and business planning advice.

The company is still a part of the programme now. The SETsquared Partnership is a research and enterprise collaboration between the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Southampton and Surrey, which aims to maximise universities’ impact on the UK economy through enterprise.

The winners of the Hampshire Business Awards will be announced on 8th October at the awards dinner, which this year is being held at the luxury Chewton Glen Country House Hotel in New Milton.

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The finalists are as follows:

Bond Pearce Innovation Award

• Chemring Group plc
• Cleansing Service Group
• PrimerDesign

KPMG Company of the Year

• Chemring Group plc
• Cleansing Service Group
• Dyer & Butler

RBS Management Team of the Year

• ACW Technology
• Cleansing Service Group
• Dyer & Butler

The awards judging panel which includes senior executives from the local business community, representatives from the Daily Echo and also from the three sponsors - national commercial law firm Bond Pearce, business advisors KPMG and The Royal Bank of Scotland – have found the judging particularly difficult this year as the standard of entries was so high.

Nick Page, Chairman of Bond Pearce, said “Judging the submissions is always difficult and with so many strong entries this year, we’ve really struggled. For the Bond Pearce Innovation Award there are three finalists – industrial and domestic environmental waste management company, Cleansing Service Group; pyrotechnics and countermeasures manufacturers, Chemring Group plc and PrimerDesign, who develop DNA test kits. All three have proved that innovation is alive and well in Hampshire, which is exactly what we set out to demonstrate and celebrate.”

Phil Cotton, senior partner at KPMG commenting on the finalists of the KMPG Company of the Year award, said “For the winner of this award, we look for the best overall business and at every aspect of how a company is run from its staffing through to its financing. The finalists have demonstrated all-round business excellence in their products, services, results and strategic direction. Congratulations to countermeasures specialists, Chemring Group plc; construction firm, Dyer & Butler and Cleansing Service Group, one of Hampshire’s longest established companies, for becoming finalists in what has been a particularly tough category to judge.”

Dan Salanson, Head of Corporate Banking for RBS in the Solent, added “The RBS Management Team of the Year Award aims to highlight teams that have shown leadership, drive and commitment, along with the ability to think and plan ahead. We’d like to congratulate Dyer & Butler, Cleansing Service Group and ACW Technology, who are finalists in this category, and all the other finalists who have been shortlisted. We’re looking forward to the awards dinner when this year’s winners will be announced.”

The Hampshire Business Awards are now in their 19th year and have established themselves as a prestigious event, a staple in the local business community’s diary. Supporting the awards and facilitating this year’s awards dinner, is MCCP, which specialises in event management, corporate communication projects and video production for both the public and private sectors.

Finalists and invitees from the local business community will attend the Chewton Glen Country House Hotel in New Milton, which was itself a finalist in 2008, for the announcement of the Hampshire Business Awards 2009 winners on 8th October.

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The three sponsors – national commercial law firm Bond Pearce, business advisors KPMG and The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) – also play their part in the judging process. “This year, we have seen a record number of entries and the standards are very high,” explains, Nick Page, Chairman of Bond Pearce. “Judging the submissions is always difficult and with so many strong submissions, we’ve really struggled.”

Phil Cotton, senior partner at KPMG comments, “We’ve had entries from a broad range of businesses from all over Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. It’s great to see the awards have attracted such a large number of quality submissions. It goes to show that despite the current economic climate, businesses are still thriving and the awards acknowledge and celebrate this.”

“There are some high calibre candidates this year that have displayed real business acumen,” adds Dan Salanson, Head of Corporate Banking for RBS in the Solent. “The challenge now is drilling these down and deciding our finalists for the three award categories – the Bond Pearce Innovation Award, KPMG Company of the Year and RBS Management Team of the Year.”

The Hampshire Business Awards are now in their 19th year and have established themselves as a prestigious event, a staple in the local business community’s diary. Supporting the awards and facilitating this year’s awards dinner, is MCCP, which specialises in event management, corporate communication projects and video production for both the public and private sectors.

Finalists and invitees from the local business community will attend the Chewton Glen Country House Hotel in New Milton, which was itself a finalist in 2008, for the announcement of the Hampshire Business Awards 2009 winners on 8th October.

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“It’s not just the positive comments we get from our customers but also the intangible aspects. Winning last year has helped to emphasise the fact that we are a credible, quality company. We won the RBS International Company Award last year and were finalists in the KPMG Company of the Year category. We use these in our recruitment and induction material and proudly display our award in our offices which is often a topic of conversation,” says Sean Biddlecombe, Director of International Marketing at Garmin Europe, the global leaders in GPS technology. The company’s local operations are the sales, support and distribution hub for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Raymond Brown Minerals & Recycling is part of the Raymond Brown Group and offers a one-stop solution for aggregates in the construction industry. Kelvin White, Group Managing Director at Raymond Brown, winners of the KPMG Company of the Year, echoed Sean’s point on non tangible benefits and felt the win was an added bonus for the staff at Raymond Brown as they could share in the business’ success. “We are now publicly seen as a very attractive employer and the award has definitely helped raise general awareness of our company,” said Kelvin. He could also pinpoint very tangible rewards due to this growing awareness. The commercial benefits were almost immediate for us as shortly after our win last year we were contacted by Hanson Contracting to support them in their bid for the Dorset Term Services Partnership. Hanson were successful in the bid and we are now formally part of that supply chain providing recycled aggregates for at least the next five years. I would say the main advantage for us is that people are now much more aware of what we do and are thinking of us when they are in need of the services we offer.”

“On a more personal level, the awards were a great way to celebrate the lifelong work of founder Raymond Brown who sadly passed away at the end of last year. As colleagues and friends of Raymond, we were all delighted to receive the award as an acknowledgement of his hard work and dedication to the business,” added Kelvin.

Isle-of-Wight-based Milmega design, develop and manufacture solid state high-power broadband amplifiers for commercial and government purposes and won the Bond Pearce Innovation Award. “We were delighted to win the award last year. Innovation is our main aim and although we are seen as an innovative company, winning an award like this reinforces the fact,” said Finance Director, Graeme Goodall. “When we attended the IEEE event in Detroit - our key industry show for electronics - we were billed top of the newsletter distributed at the event directly as a result of winning the Hampshire Business Innovation Award. This gave us the opportunity to promote ourselves and be seen by all those attending the show. We’ve really used the win to leverage our marketing.”

The Hampshire Business Awards are now in their 19th year and have established themselves as a prestigious event, a staple in the local business community’s diary. The organisers and three sponsors - national commercial law firm Bond Pearce, business advisors KPMG and The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) – are searching for the county’s very best business talent. The sponsors are keen to attract entries from as many organisations as possible from the length and breadth of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Supporting the awards and facilitating this year’s awards dinner is MCCP, which specialises in event management, corporate communication projects and video production for both the public and private sectors.

Only four days remain to enter the three award categories – the Bond Pearce Innovation Award, KPMG Company of the Year and RBS Management Team of the Year. Businesses can enter as many of the three categories as they wish ahead of the deadline of Friday 12 June.

For details of how to get your company involved in the Hampshire Business Awards 2009, log onto http://www.hampshirebusinessawards.co.uk/ or call Hazel Gibbs at KPMG on 023 8020 2051.

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Declan has an established career in broadcast and has won several awards including ABI Financial ‘Journalist of the Year’ and Proshare Financial ‘Personality of the Year’. He is currently a presenter of BBC Two's "Working Lunch" programme and with more than 15 years’ experience as a business journalist, he is one of the country's best-known faces for money news. For seven years, he was the Business Presenter for BBC One's "Breakfast", the UK's most-watched morning news programme.

Declan has also recently reported for "Panorama", and presented "Weekend Business" on BBC Radio Five Live and "Heaven & Earth" on BBC One. For almost a decade, Declan broadcast each morning on the US network ABC. He has been a producer, reporter and presenter for BBC Radio - including Radio 4 and 5 Live and for the London-based news station LBC.

Declan has also worked extensively in print media and spent four years as a regular columnist for "Investors Chronicle" magazine. He has been published in newspapers and magazines in the UK, Ireland and the United States.

Declan Curry, presenter and business journalist, said: “I’m looking forward to hosting the awards later this year. Recognising business excellence is very important and these awards highlight that despite the current economic climate, there are still thriving businesses that are responding innovatively to the challenging market conditions in the UK. Good luck to all the entrants.”

Now in their 19th year, the awards aim to seek out and name the county’s very best business talent. The sponsors are keen to attract entries from as many organisations as possible from the length and breadth of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and will be challenging competing companies to demonstrate examples of their business acumen. Supporting the awards and facilitating this year’s awards dinner is MCCP, which specialises in event management, corporate communication projects and video production for both the public and private sectors.

Only ten days are left to enter the three award categories – the Bond Pearce Innovation Award, KPMG Company of the Year and RBS Management Team of the Year. Businesses can enter as many of the three categories as they wish ahead of the deadline of Friday 12 June. The range of awards enables companies to highlight their successes in different ways, be it through innovation, particular achievements or all-round business excellence.

For details of how to get your company involved in the Hampshire Business Awards 2009, log onto http://www.hampshirebusinessawards.co.uk/ or call Hazel Gibbs at KPMG on 023 8020 2051.

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As Nick points out, "This award category has a history of revealing some of the county’s most exciting businesses, yet interestingly it is not just about technology and scientific wizardry. Previous winners include Red Funnel, which in order to transform its operations, needed to come up with innovative solutions not only to continue to operate their business successfully during a period of change but also to overcome a series of obstacles in order to achieve the change they wanted. It is often the case that companies are not always aware just how innovative they are". “Innovation is alive and well in Hampshire, which is exactly what we have set out to demonstrate and celebrate,” said Nick Page.

“Innovation can occur in many different ways and is particularly visable in sectors such as IT, pharmaceutical and defence sectors. We are equally keen to hear from businesses which innovate through creative methods of working. It may be the way in which a problem has been tackled, or the successful introduction of a unique service or adapting existing technology to achieve new solutions.”

Last year’s winner was Isle of Wight-based Milmega, a specialist design and manufacturer of high power, solid state amplifiers, for its range of new products, launched in 2007 after a year long development programme. What set Milmega apart was the company’s ability to combine, “genuine innovation with demonstrable business leadership. Milmega proves it’s possible to be a global leader from the furthest corner of Hampshire,” explains Nick.

For details of how to get your company involved in the KPMG Company of the Year Award, the Bond Pearce Innovation Award or the RBS Management Team of the Year Award, log onto http://www.hampshirebusinessawards.co.uk/ or call Hazel Gibbs at KPMG on 023 8020 2051

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This week we look at the second in our series of award analyses - the KPMG Company of the Year - which looks for the best overall business and at every aspect of how a company is run from its staffing through to its financing. Phil Cotton, Senior Partner at KPMG’s south coast office commented on the award: “We are extremely proud to now be in the 19th year of these successful local awards and we look forward to hearing from as many inspirational local businesses as possible who are demonstrating all-round business excellence.” Key elements that the judges will be looking for in this year’s finalists include a strong financial track record, the ability to think strategically, keep abreast of new developments and illustrate plans for future growth. While financial performance is a key element, having a great idea, product or service, with the right people in place are also important factors. "This award recognises companies that have achieved all-round business excellence in their products, services, results and strategic direction. Every year I am delighted by the quality and range of entries that we receive - this just proves that Hampshire has a wealth of business talent,” continued Phil. “We are aware of the economic conditions businesses are facing and it is especially important to highlight that companies within our county are stepping up their game and meeting these challenges head on, helping to strengthen their position within the market.” Last year’s winner of this award was Raymond Brown Minerals & Recycling. The Nursling-based company supplies materials to the construction industry from its own quarries, collects and recycles by-products of construction, and operates landfill sites. Phil reflected, “Raymond Brown Minerals and Recycling stood out as last year’s winner for its clear commercial strategy and business practices which have the added benefit of enhancing and protecting Hampshire’s environment.”

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This week we shine the spotlight on The Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) newly launched award category. In place of the RBS International Trade Award is the RBS Management Team of the Year Award, which aims to recognise a team of individuals whose hard work, commitment and insight has effected positive change within a business.

“We are aware of the wealth of strong management teams in the region and we want to bring these to the fore and celebrate them at this year’s awards,” said Dan Salanson, Head of Corporate Banking for RBS in the Solent. “It may be that a team has worked on a particular project or has been involved with the long-term management of a business. In each case, we would be looking for examples of leadership, drive, commitment and the ability to think and plan ahead.” With tougher trading conditions prevailing, the presence of a high calibre strategic management team is essential. It is often in more challenging circumstances that the strength and adaptability of a management team come to light. Factors such as market knowledge and creative ideas coupled with a management team that has the full support and backing of staff throughout its organisation, become ever more crucial to assist a business and help drive it forward.

As a local corporate banking team, RBS works closely with customers and businesses, helping them to achieve their long-term strategic plans. The RBS Solent team benefits from specialists in a range of areas including the Corporate and Structured Finance team, which specialises in leveraged finance transactions. RBS Corporate Banking works closely with its partners across the RBS Group including Lombard, the asset finance provider, RBS Invoice Finance and Global Transaction Services.

The bank is encouraging all local business to enter this year’s awards and showcase the wealth of success stories that exist locally. “I’m sure that this newly launched award will invite interest from an even broader range of businesses in the region. I look forward to receiving nominations from across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight,” continued Dan Salanson.

For details of how to get your company involved in the RBS Management Team of the Year Award, the Bond Pearce Innovation Award or the KPMG Company of the Year Awards log onto http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/business/ and click the link to the Hampshire Business Awards, or call Hazel Gibbs at KPMG on 023 8020 2051

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Hampshire, April 2009 - This month, we begin the countdown to find the very best of the county’s business achievements with the nomination process for the Daily Echo-backed Hampshire Business Awards 2009 now open.

The year’s search is on to find the county’s best businesses and the sponsors will be challenging competing companies to demonstrate examples of their business excellence. Given the wider economic climate, the sponsors will be looking for companies that show resilience, resourcefulness and the ability to step up their game by responding innovatively to the current challenging market conditions in the UK.

Now in their 19th year, the awards aim to seek out and name the county’s very best business talent. This year the awards have attracted presenter Declan Curry, the familiar face and voice of a range of BBC television and radio finance programmes. Declan will be hosting the awards dinner which will take place in October.

The three sponsors – national commercial law firm Bond Pearce, business advisors KPMG and The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) – are keen to attract entries from as many organisations as possible from the length and breadth of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Supporting the awards and facilitating this year’s awards dinner is MCCP, which specialises in event management, corporate communication projects and video production for both the public and private sectors.

Phil Cotton, Senior Partner, KPMG Southampton explained, “We are looking forward to receiving entries from a range of companies telling us about their achievements. We recognise that tougher trading conditions exist but we are also aware of the high calibre of businesses still thriving in the local vicinity. We are interested to hear from companies that continue to succeed and have recognised the importance of adapting to the ever-changing market.”

Nick Page, Chairman at Bond Pearce added, “The awards are open to a broad range of businesses and we look forward to hearing from both well established corporates and up and coming younger businesses, which often boast new and exciting ideas and products. The innovation award always produces some surprises, which demonstrates the importance of innovation at all times in the life of a business."

Adding further interest, RBS has created a new award category. In place of the International Trade Award is the newly launched RBS Management Team of the Year Award, which aims to recognise a team of individuals whose hard-work, commitment and insight has effected positive change within a business.

Dan Salanson, Head of Corporate Banking for RBS in the Solent said, “We are excited to launch a brand new category and look forward to receiving a range of nominations from those management teams whose unique input has contributed to the overall success of a business.”

Three award categories are now open for entry – the Bond Pearce Innovation Award, KPMG Company of the Year and RBS Management Team of the Year Award. Businesses can enter as many of the three categories as they wish ahead of the deadline of Friday 12 June. The range of awards enables companies to highlight their successes in different ways, be it through innovation, particular achievements or all-round business excellence.

Each year, the awards dinner is held at a memorable venue, and this year is no exception. Finalists and invitees from the local business community will attend the Chewton Glen Country House Hotel in New Milton, which was itself a finalist in 2008, for the announcement of the Hampshire Business Awards 2009 winners.

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Contact: pr@hampshirebusinessawards.co.uk