Companies Line Up For Enterprising Honours

Various companies serving the oil and gas industry in the north east are among the finalists in the Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise, following a record breaking number of entries. The Awards, which are in their sixth year, recognise business achievement in the north east for companies of all sizes and are organised by Enterprise North East Trust(Enterprise) and sponsored by The Royal Bank of Scotland and Business Gateway (in association with Scottish Enterprise Grampian).

Chris Travis, chief executive of Enterprise, says, "We have seen an overwhelming response to the Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise this year which speaks volumes about the quality and enterprising spirit of new and existing businesses in the north east of Scotland. It is easy to see how the north east has earned its reputation as a centre for business formation when judging the entries, which has proved extremely difficult so far."

Jenny Moultrie, Regional Manager in Aberdeen for The Royal Bank of Scotland, says, "The calibre of companies entering this year’s awards has been outstanding and each finalist should be congratulated for getting to this stage. Entries have been received from almost every industry and we have been singularly impressed with this diversity and the high quality of businesses that are establishing themselves in the north east."

Serena Arif, Director of PolyOil, one of the Sir Ian Wood Award for Innovation finalists, says, "This nomination for an award is the culmination of much hard work and dedication over the last four years by our whole team. We have been committed to bringing modern innovation to improve everyday oilfield use and this nomination is testament to the contribution and dedication the whole team has made to achieve this."

The Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise finalists are:

New Business Award first-round finalists (£3000 prize) are:
Bugstop - Aberdeen Environmentally friendly barrier for crop pests.
fitnut – Inverurie Health awareness for organisations
Poseidon - Inverurie Precision waterjet cutting service

Young Business Award Finalists (£3 000) are:
activitymix - Aberdeen Runs corporate sports tournaments
Caledus - Aberdeen Oil and gas well products and services
Haptogen - Aberdeen Antibody development company

Business Growth Award Finalists (£3 000) are:
Heavenly Pizzas - Aberdeen Independent pizza delivery operator
Optima – Aberdeen Provides project management and engineering consultancy work for oil rig cooling systems
Zeroth Technology - Aberdeenshire  Provides innovative solutions to overcome current and future technical challenges.

Alick Buchanan Smith Spirit of Enterprise Award finalists (£3 000 prize) are:
ANM – Inverurie Offer livestock marketing and auctioneering
Cornerstone - Aberdeen Charity providing care to special needs
Minto Design and Print - Inverurie Provide high quality design and print solutions

Sir Ian Wood Award for Innovation finalists (£5 000 prize) are:
Caledus – Aberdeen Oil and gas well products and services
Haptogen - Aberdeen Antibody development company
Polyoil – Aberdeen Developed pioneering new technology for the oil and gas industry

Ian Davidson Award for Entrepreneurship finalists (£3 000 prize) are:
Ian Stuart - Inverurie Digit New Media
Graeme Anderson - Fraserburgh boxportable
Graeme Duncan - Aberdeen xtreme solutions

Winners will be announced at a black tie awards ceremony on Thursday 9 June at Ardoe House Hotel by Aberdeen. Karren Brady, Managing Director of Birmingham City Football Club, will be keynote speaker at the prestigious event. All finalists will receive a certificate with category winners picking up a coveted enterprise award and a cheque for up to £3 000.