2005 Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise Launched

Date: 17 January 2005

Nominations for the 2005 Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise open today Monday 17 January 2005. The call for entries was launched in Aberdeen by Chris Travis, Chief Executive of Enterprise North East Trust (Enterprise) along with Jenny Moultrie, Regional Manager and Stuart Heslop, Director of Commercial Banking, Aberdeen from The Royal Bank of Scotland who are the main sponsor of the event for the fourth year. Business Gateway is also a key sponsor of the event which is now in its sixth year. A new format for entries is being introduced this year to enable as many companies as possible to enter the awards which recognise business excellence in all sizes of enterprises across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. The deadline for first stage applications is Friday 18 February 2005.

"We have introduced a two phase entry system to make entering the awards even easier this year," says Chris Travis of Enterprise. "The first stage is a short application form which is available from today and can be downloaded from the website www.enetrust.com. From these entries, our expert judging panel will select those successfully reaching stage 2 where they will be asked to prepare a more detailed submission. The finalists will be chosen and invited to present their entry to the panel in more detail. We had more entries than ever in 2004 and I am confident that this new simplified entry system will increase the number of entries even more. I am proud that the Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise have always recognised businesses of all sizes and the new simplified first stage entry will encourage even the smallest of businesses who rarely have much ‘spare’ time for extra form filling."

Jenny Moultrie, Regional Manager for the Royal Bank of Scotland in Aberdeen says, "The Royal Bank of Scotland is delighted to be sponsoring the Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise. These awards give local companies of all sizes the opportunity to gain recognition for their achievements and innovation. We fully recognise the importance entrepreneurial spirit can play in successful business growth and would urge companies throughout the region to enter."

2004 winners of Awards included Pragma in the Business Growth Category, Whitehills Harbour Commissioners in the Spirit of Enterprise and Judith Thorpe of Thorpe Molloy in the Ian Davidson Award for Entrepreneurship.

Allan Merritt of Pragma says of winning the Business Growth Award in 2004, "Winning the award had far more impact than we had ever thought. The recognition which the company gained through the awards PR was significant. It had a huge and long lasting impact on morale within Pragma – which was high anyway as we celebrated our tenth anniversary and it also reflected very well on us with our clients. I would encourage all business people across the north east to make it a priority to enter this year’s Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise."

Colin Donald, director of finance and competitive business at Scottish Enterprise Grampian says, "Scottish Enterprise Grampian's role is to provide support and assistance to enable companies to grow. Grampian enjoys an excellent track record of high-performing businesses and these awards give us the opportunity to celebrate those companies that have shown themselves to be particularly outstanding. These are the region's star performers who are leading the way in contributing to the economic growth of the region and securing its long term prosperity and serve as a role model to encourage other businesses to aim high and maximise their potential."

There are six categories in the 2005 Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise. Winners receive a unique handcrafted trophy and the awards are one of the few which have a cash prize of up to £5000 in each category. All criteria are based on company age at 1 June 2005.

Application forms are available at www.enetrust.com, from branches of the Royal Bank of Scotland and by calling Enterprise North East Trust on 01467 672500.

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