Peterhead Business Hopes to ‘Walkodile’ Away with Prestigious Award

A north east business has been named as a Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise 2007 finalist, thanks to a revolutionary invention that bears more than a passing resemblance to a neon green reptile. Peterhead's Red Island Limited, creator of the Walkodile®, an innovative system for walking groups of children, has been named as a finalist in the New Start category.

Red Island will find out if it has been successful in securing a prestigious award at the 7 June awards ceremony, which takes place at Ardoe House Hotel. The awards are organised by Enterprise North East Trust (ENET), which delivers Business Gateway services in the north-east on behalf of Scottish Enterprise Grampian, sponsors of the event along with The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). Winners of each of the five categories will receive a unique handcrafted trophy and a cash prize.

The revolutionary Walkodile® was invented by teacher Elaine Stephen, with a simple goal of ensuring the best possible safety for the children under her care during walking trips. The idea came about out of necessity, after Elaine had scoured the market for a product that could do just this. Upon discovering that it did not exist, she took the step of inventing her own!

Walkodile®, designed for use by children between the ages of three and seven years old, works by linking either six or four children to a central flexible spine. Each child wears a high visibility harness with a clip, which is then connected to the spine. The innovative product has already received acclaim from children, parents and childcare staff, and interest has been registered from not just the north east of Scotland but the rest of the UK and further afield.

New Start Award finalists will be judged on criteria that include their initial business plan, and whether they are delivering on it; their development of the business in terms of turnover and employment; and their ability to focus on the customer's needs through effective marketing strategy.

John Stephen, managing director of Red Island says: "There were four years of product development before Walkodile® became a reality. Since then Red Island has hit target after target; in terms of making the product available, in raising public awareness in it, and importantly, in sales. An initial target of achieving orders from 50% of the schools and nurseries testing the product was surpassed by 19%.

"Raising awareness in Walkodile® is central for the success of Red Island Ltd, not just in the UK, but all around the world. A critical part of our marketing plan was a desire to create a 'best in class' image. We wanted a unique brand and we have it. We wanted to back this up with a memorable website, we have achieved that. We were creative and commissioned a Walkodile® movie and Walkodile® song. Finally we were able to back this up with Elaine's inside knowledge. She knew what would appeal to a teacher working to strict budgets, and what type of approach to adopt.

"Having the efforts of Elaine and I acknowledged through industry recognition is extremely gratifying. When obstacles had to be overcome, we were prepared to take risks because we believed in the product and without this belief and the talented team we assembled we would not be in the position that we are today. Being named as a Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise finalist is fantastic and if we were to secure the New Start Award I would be delighted."

Red Island Limited will compete with another north east business for the coveted award. Interactyx will hope that their LiveEcon product, an innovative interactive learning solution for economics students is enough to secure the New Start Award.

Stuart Heslop, director of commercial banking Aberdeen, RBS, says: "The two finalists in this year's New Start category are shining examples of the innovative spirit that exists in the north east. Here we have two products that are destined for success on a national and international scale, and this can only have a positive effect on the area. The north east's business success is often attributed to the thriving oil and gas industry, but the area has long been a centre for excellence in other industry sectors, and the diverse array of finalists for the Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise 2007 demonstrate this."

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.

For more information on Business Gateway services, telephone 01224 289725 or visit www.bgateway.com.

Picture caption: Elaine Stephen (first right), teacher, inventor & director of Peterhead based Red Island Ltd and the Walkodile® in action. Also pictured, from left to right, Sarah Adegbite, Robyn Davidson, Jenny Donald, Morven Ellis, Rebecca Hardy, Catarina O'Neill and Fraser Wilson.

John McIntosh

Tricker PR

Tel: 01224 646491

Mobile: 07795 522 011

Email: jmcintosh@trickepr.com