Chesterfield firm Cathelco tops Derbyshire chamber’s awards

The Chesterfield-based firm, which produces anti-fouling systems for seawater pipework received the award, sponsored by Insider Media Group, at the chamber’s Derbyshire Business Awards at the Roundhouse on Friday.

The company also won the Excellence in Innovation award.

In its 55-year history, Cathelco has completed more than 30,000 installations worldwide.

Its success stems from its focus on two very specialised but essential safety systems for vessels in the harsh marine environment, namely its pipework anti-fouling systems and its hull corrosion protection systems.

Its Technical Director, Robert Field, said: “We are delighted to have won this award, which comes on the back of a great year for Cathelco.

Our BWT system is going into commercial production and there is already strong interest from ship owners worldwide.

“As a result, Cathelco will be enlarging its production facilities and increasing its workforce. This award is testament to the hard work of all our staff in achieving this.”

Other big winners on the night were the Woodville-based Greenbank Group, which walked away with the Achievement in International Business and the Sustainability award, Derby’s Anoki restaurant, which won the Excellence in Customer Service award and South Normanton-based Purpose Media, which was names Small Business of the Year.

Chamber Chief Executive George Cowcher said: “The Chamber’s congratulations go to all of this year’s winners. We had some stellar entries this year and the judging process was extremely tough, but all of the winning businesses thoroughly deserve their success.

“The standard of competition was extremely high this year which clearly shows that, following a year in which the local economy has made remarkable progress, we have some real success stories of Derbyshire businesses doing well.

“Over the past 12 months, businesses in Derbyshire have been busy investing, innovating, exporting and growing and these awards are testament to the quality of business we have in this city and county.”

The full list of winners is as follows:

Best use of Technology to Improve Business Performance, sponsored by Microlise: Mitchells Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers

A spokesman said: “We are delighted to have won the award for Best Use of Technology to Improve Business Performance, because it is at the very heart of what we do.

“Essentially, we are on a journey of development to transform our clients’ businesses using more than just accountancy skills.

“We’ll continue to blaze a trail in the effort to make business operations and growth easier for our clients. Our motto is ‘if you can’t measure it you can’t manage it’ - we think this is why the Chamber were kind enough to recognise us for this prestigious award.”

Runners-up: DT Publications and Greenbank Group UK

Commitment to People Development, sponsored by AIM Awards: Cullum Detuners.

Managing Director Bill Rigg said: “The Board of Directors are absolutely delighted to receive this prestigious award on behalf of and in recognition of the colossal effort put in by a great number of people at Cullum over recent months.

“It has been a long and at times stressful journey, so far, in driving change throughout the business through a sustained focus on development and training.

“Our team members have embraced this with open arms and we can’t speak highly enough of them. There are exciting times ahead with the next phase of development about to be rolled out with the help of local authority backed grants.”

Runners-up: Greenbank Group UK and University of Derby

Excellence in Customer Service, sponsored by Roundhouse Thinking: Anoki Indian Restaurant

Owner Naveed Khaliq said: “Over the years, Anoki has established itself as one of the most unique dining experiences in the region, so we are absolutely thrilled to be recognised for our efforts in providing the highest levels of customer service. To win this award twice in three years is an incredible achievement and is a tremendous vote of confidence in everything we do.

“We place our customers at the heart of our business and work hard to stay ahead of our competitors with continued investment in the Anoki ‘experience’. We will keep pushing the boundaries by seeking out new food combinations and introducing new dishes to constantly surprise and excite our guests,”

Runners-Up: East Midlands Trains and Irongate Group

The Sustainability Award, sponsored by Garrandale: Greenbank Group UK.

Managing Director Charles Conroy said: “This award is for the team at Greenbank, who have endeavoured to make our work place cleaner and greener and our products environmentally friendly.

“Greenbank is committed to protecting the environment by complying with all relevant UK legislation and regulatory provisions as well as meeting appropriate European and National standards.

“This accolade ticks the box for one of our business goals by being recognised for our efforts.”

Runners-Up: Encore Reuse and Mainline Group

Young Person in Business Award, sponsored by Derby College: Robert Hodgkinson, Quantity Surveyor at Hodgkinson Builders.

Robert said: “This award feels like a celebration for the last few years of work within Hodgkinson, where we come from and what we have achieved.

“Growing up within the company has been a great experience, even with the recession hitting the industry so hard. At times, it felt easier to give up but we never did.

“I’m not only surrounded by a team which pushes hard work, determination and prides itself on its high level of quality, but an adoring, supportive, positive family and partner that brings out the best in a person and the best in me.

“I feel these next few years to come will be our best yet – the industry is starting to take off again and our team, family and friends, including myself, can focus on carrying on rebuilding Britain.”

Runners-Up: Matt Shore of AAG Systems and Emma Lindley of Futures.

Achievement in International Business, supported by Enterprise Europe Network: Greenbank Group UK.

Managing Director Charles Conroy said: “We are delighted to have been presented with this award, which recognises our further success in exporting home-grown technologies to far reaching corners of the world.

“Winning this award commends the time, dedication and personal effort invested by individuals within the business who have gone the extra mile to design, promote, supply and install our products overseas.”

Runners-Up: Northern Lights and United Cast Bar

Manufacturer of the Year, sponsored by Custard IT: Bowers Electricals.

Managing Director Michael Bowers said: “This award is a testament to all the staff at Bowers Electricals who work hard as a team to ensure that we remain at the forefront of our industry after nearly 70 years.

“The region has a great tradition of engineering and manufacturing excellence. To this day, products that are designed and built here are exported all over the world, including our own products.

“We’re proud to fly the flag for British manufacturing and I’d like to think that we’ll be here in another 70 years, still supporting the local economy and still going strong.”

Runners-Up: Guilford Europe and Northern Lights

School of the Year, sponsored by Cullum Detuners: da Vinci Community School.

Headteacher Mark Cottingham said: “Staff and students work very hard at da Vinci and we are pleased and proud that our hard work has been recognised. We were finalists in this award last year, so we are delighted to be successful this year and we would especially like to thank all of the local businesses that support our work.

“We aim to teach our students the transferable skills and qualities that employers seek and to prepare them for life after da Vinci. One of the ways we do this by offering them the best possible access to local businesses, giving them an insight into what working life in different careers is like.

“As Derbyshire’s only Co-operative trust School we also work closely with co-operatives businesses in the area to give our students a good awareness of different models of enterprise and business.”

Runners-Up: Heanor Gate Science College and William Allitt School

Excellence in Innovation, sponsored by Rolls-Royce: Cathelco

Technical Director Robert Field said: “We are delighted to have won the Excellence in Innovation Award for our ballast water treatment system.

“The transfer of invasive species from one ocean to another in ship’s ballast water is one of the most serious problems facing the global maritime industry.

“The development of our system has involved a four-year programme of research drawing on the expertise of Cathelco teams in Chesterfield and Germany to provide solutions to the various design challenges. This was followed by rigorous tests to meet the requirements of the International Maritime Organisation.

“Our system will help to protect the marine environment in the years ahead.”

Runners-Up: Garrandale and Valley Heating System

Entrepreneur of the Year, Sponsored by Academy for Chief Executives: Andrew Gilbert, Managing Director, of Node4 Limited.

Andrew said: “I started Node4 in Derby 10 years ago with just two others and in the decade since, we have managed to achieve rapid growth.

“While the company is still headquartered in Derby, Node4 now has over 100 people with regional offices in Leeds, Northampton and Reading.

“As passionate as I am about the business, that success would not have been achieved without the support and shared vision of the entire management team. Node4 is an exciting, growing business and we want to keep it that way and to do that we need to grow together. So as much as it is an honour to be recognised as the Entrepreneur of the Year, I have to give enormous credit to my whole team for making this possible.”

Runners-Up: Ian Hodgkinson of Hodgkinson Builders and Matt Wheatcroft of Purpose Media

Small Business of the Year, Sponsored by Kingswood Taxation and Wealth Management Ltd: Purpose Media.

Managing Director Matt Wheatcroft said: “This is the culmination of a very successful year for our company and winning the award is a huge boost to team morale. Everybody has contributed in their own way and I wish to thank them all for their hard work and commitment.

“We also have some excellent external advisers on our board whose past insight have helped us to avoid some common pitfalls, and they are to thank for ensuring the company has such a robust plan for growth.”

Runners-Up: Shed Grounds Maintenance and Bowers Electricals