Baker Hopes to Rise to the Occasion with its Recipe for Success

JG Ross, a long established bakery and fresh food business, hopes that it has the recipe for success at this year's Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise. The Inverurie based business's achievements have already been recognised with finalist placing in two categories, but JG Ross will hope to go the extra step and secure a coveted Enterprise award.

The business, established in 1962, is named as a finalist in the Business Growth and Alick Buchanan Smith Spirit of Enterprise categories. The awards, which are organised by Enterprise North East Trust (ENET) and sponsored by The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Business Gateway (supported by SE Grampian) take place at Ardoe House Hotel on 7 June 2007. Winners of each of the five categories will receive a unique handcrafted trophy and a cash prize.

JG Ross was established in 1962 and started as a small bakery, shop and retail vans. The company has undergone expansive growth and now services retail, foodservice and wholesale markets. JG Ross also has 21 of its own retail shops throughout the North East, with a further 3 shops scheduled to come on stream later this year.

Graeme Ross, director of JG Ross says: "JG Ross has been named finalist at the Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise 2007 in categories that recognise business development and commitment to the community. This is extremely satisfying because these are two things that are and always have been important to JG Ross, and it is pleasing that the efforts made in these areas have again been recognised by those outwith the company.

"JG Ross is committed to preparing for the future through staff training and development. There has been significant investment of time and money on training all levels of staff on food hygiene, safety and customer service. Customer satisfaction is paramount for JG Ross, as is our dedication to the community. By developing our staff, we can build on the skills levels found within the local community and keep the bakery industry alive within the north east of Scotland.

"We also spend a huge amount of time working with and supporting local community groups, schools and universities. The company is a member of a number of associations, at both local and national level and several senior staff members have been involved as guest speakers at local events."

The Business Growth category recognises businesses that have been trading for more than three years and can display significant development in a chosen field. JG Ross is in competition for the award with Laurencekirk based Journeycall Ltd, which provides customer support for the public transport sector and Huntly based rare Whisky purveyor Duncan Taylor & Co Ltd.

The Alick Buchanan Smith Spirit of Enterprise Award is open to businesses that have been trading for more than five years, and have demonstrated a commitment to the community in which they operate. JG Ross is up against two other north east businesses for the award. Onshore and offshore engineering firm C&M Group Ltd and MacPhie of Glenbervie, a modern food ingredients producer will also be hoping for success.

Stuart Heslop, Director of Commercial Banking for RBS in Aberdeen, says: "The Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise recognise business achievement and development in five categories and I consider any business being named finalist in two categories as a notable achievement. This recognition is well deserved by JG Ross, a long established business that is committed to the community and to the development of its staff; which has also grown from a small family owned bakery to a multi-million pound food producer."

For a company to experience such growth, a network of customers is required to sustain it. Graeme Ross has identified the principal factor for the customer retention that JG Ross enjoys. "It is the high standard of food for sale that inspires such customer loyalty. We use only the highest quality of ingredients to ensure that all products are consistently of high quality, fresh and taste delicious. This, coupled with our customer service, ensures that customer satisfaction is consistently excellent."

Winners will be announced at a black tie awards ceremony on Thursday 7 June 2007 at Ardoe House Hotel by Aberdeen. Simon Woodroffe, founder of YO! Sushi and one of Britain's highest profile male entrepreneurs, will be the keynote speaker at the event. All finalists will receive a certificate with category winners picking up a coveted enterprise award and a cheque for up to £5,000.

The awards ceremony will take place on 7^th June at Ardoe House Hotel, by Aberdeen. Tickets cost £80 per guest (plus VAT) or £800 (plus VAT) for a table of ten. The event begins with a champagne reception ay 7pm, with carriages at 12.30am. Tickets for the event can be booked by calling 01467 672535, emailing Karen.clark@enetrust.com or completing a booking form online at www.grampianawards.com.

The Business Gateway service in Grampian is delivered on behalf of Scottish Enterprise Grampian by Enterprise North East Trust. For more information telephone 01224 289725 or visit www.bgateway.com.

Ends

Picture Caption (L-R) Stuart Heslop, director of commercial banking Aberdeen for RBS, one of the key sponsors of the Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise and Graeme Ross, director of JG Ross (Bakers) Ltd, who are finalists in the Business Growth and Alick Buchanan Smith Spirit of Enterprise award categories.

For further information contact:

John McIntosh

Tricker PR

Tel: 01224 646491

Mobile: 07795 522 011

Email:

jmcintosh@trickerpr.com