Green businesses amongst the finalists for 2006 Grampian Awards for Business Ent

Two green businesses are amongst the finalists for the 2006 Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise.  Keenan Recycling Ltd is a finalist in the Sir Ian Wood Awards for Innovation whilst Earthwise Scotland Ltd is a contender for the Young Business Award.  Both companies will find out whether they have won their respective categories at the awards ceremony which is being held at Ardoe House Hotel on 8 June 2006.

Chris Travis, chief executive of Enterprise North East Trust comments, “The business that walks away with the Sir Ian Wood Award for Innovation will have to have demonstrated an innovative approach to product or service development and have the potential to demonstrate or have demonstrated a positive effect on the Grampian Economy.”

Turriff based company, Keenan Recycling Ltd was set up in April 2004 and specialises in the processing and recycling of ‘green waste’.  They currently process 30,000 tonnes of green and wood waste each year. 

Grant Keenan of Keenan Recycling Ltd says, “The business was set up to process and recycle green waste.  Rather than being sent to land fill sites we process the waste and turn it into compost.  This is then sold, providing the agriculture industry, landscapers and horticulturalists with high quality, affordable compost.  More importantly for our surroundings, the service we provide means that there is a green waste solution that is an environmentally friendly alternative to landfill.”

The company has secured contracts from councils in Aberdeen (City and Shire), Moray, Highlands and Angus to process green waste.  Grant adds, “Keenan Recycling is currently undergoing expansion.  A £200,000 project to expand our premises and offices and add machinery, including a bagging machine, is nearing completion.  In the future we plan to expand further.  Plans are in place for a £2 million expansion which will allow us to process 50% more green waste.”

Keenan Recycling Ltd will come up against Fraserburgh based Gray & Adams Ltd and Aberdeen based NovaBiotics Ltd in the Sir Ian Wood Award for Innovation finalists.

Grant says of his award nomination, “We are delighted to be nominated as a finalist in the Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise.  To be named as a finalist is recognition of the work that we have carried out to develop the business to where we are today.  To win this award would be a great honour and would acknowledge the commitment of those associated with Keenan Recycling Ltd to providing our services to process and recycle green waste.”

Set up in November 2003 Kemnay based business, Earthwise Scotland Ltd is a finalist in the Young Business Awards category; this category recognises the achievements of organisations that have been trading for less than three years and are well on the way to becoming key businesses in the region.

Earthwise Scotland Ltd specialise in the renewable energy heating sector and concentrate on the design and installation of ground source heat pumps; primarily for the domestic market.

Angela Wilson, Marketing Director, of Earthwise Scotland Ltd says, “In the past two years we have installed systems all over Scotland and northern England.  The current rate of installations is four per month.  The company has made significant investments in staff training, the development of operational procedures and the production of marketing materials.  These are deemed to be invaluable in terms of their contribution to the successful development of the company.”

Market research and industry models predict that the market for heat pumps will undergo exponential growth.  Angela comments, “In order to capitalise on the growing market for heat pumps we are in the process of raising awareness and targeting markets such as housing associations.  Our future plans include the offering of service agreements through an after sales service team.  We also recognise and understand the value of our workforce so in order to recruit and retain technical personnel we plan to implement an ongoing in-house training programme to facilitate the creation of a network of market leading installers.”

Angela adds, “Earthwise Scotland Ltd has been trading for less than three years; to win this award would acknowledge the contribution and achievements of the team at Earthwise Scotland Ltd thus far.”

Aberdeen based TSMarine (Contracting) Ltd and Red Spider Technology of Westhill are also finalists in the Young Business Award category; both businesses work in the oil and gas industry. 

Stuart Heslop, Director of Commercial Banking for The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in Aberdeen, says “The Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise showcase the diverse range of successful businesses in the north east.  These two finalists illustrate that entrepreneurs in the north east are adept at identifying the changing needs of the market and responding to them, an important skill in today’s challenging business landscape.”

Winners will be announced at a black tie awards ceremony on Thursday 8 June 2006 at Ardoe House Hotel by Aberdeen.  Richard Reed, Co-founder of Innocent Drinks, will be the 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 £5,000.

Now in their seventh year, the Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise recognise business achievement in the north east for companies of all sizes, operating in a variety of industry sectors.  The awards are organised by Enterprise North East Trust (Enterprise) and sponsored by RBS and Business Gateway (in association with Scottish Enterprise Grampian).

Winners from last year’s awards include Poseidon Engineering, Zertech, double award winners Caledus, ANM Group and Graeme Anderson of boxportable.

Tickets cost £80 per guest (plus VAT) or £800 (plus VAT) for a table of ten.  The event begins with a champagne reception at 7pm, with carriages at 12.30am.  Tickets for the event can be booked by calling 01467 672535, or emailing events@enetrust.com.

More information about the awards can be found at www.enetrust.com.  Winners were selected on 13th April 2006 and will not be announced until the awards ceremony takes place on 8th June at Ardoe House Hotel, by Aberdeen.

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