Cygnet Group of Northwich and Helsby-based Heat
Trace both received a prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise earlier this year.
Their success was celebrated at an event hosted by
Cheshire West and Chester Council at PlaceEXPO in Liverpool, the property
pavilion for the UK’s International Festival for Business (IFB).
Gemma Davies, Senior Manager Economic Growth sated
"At Cheshire West and Chester, we are committed to a culture of ‘open for
business’ and nothing makes us more proud than seeing local companies perform
and innovate on a global scale”.
The managing directors of the two companies joined members of the Economic Development
team at the Council’s stand to help promote West Cheshire as a place for
business.
Cygnet Group was named winner of the Queen’s Award
for Enterprise in International Trade and Heat Trace won the Queen’s Award for
Enterprise in Innovation.
Founded in 1974, Cygnet
Group is an export-led manufacturer that delivers advanced engineering
solutions to some of the fastest-growing industries in the world.
It manufactures specialist
machinery to process technical fibres and fabrics used in the automotive,
aerospace and wind energy sectors and patented safety connectors for the subsea
oil and gas market.
In the last three years,
the family-owned business has exported over 95% of its UK-manufactured machines
to 30 countries worldwide. In the same period the company opened new offices in
China and the US and saw revenues triple to £23m.
At the event, managing
director for Cygnet Group, Matthew Kimpton-Smith, shared the story of the
company’s success as a UK manufacturer competing on a world stage.
He revealed how the
decision to target some of the fastest-growing niche markets in the world with
its British-engineered machinery has meant that, even in times of recession,
Cygnet Group has enjoyed considerable growth and international recognition.
Helsby-based Heat Trace
manufactures innovative heating cables used in a wide range of industries
throughout the world, including oil and gas, petrochemical, food processing,
power generation, railway and transportation and automotive.
The company, which is
celebrating its 40th anniversary, was recognised by the Queen’s
Awards for breaking new ground in the field of semi-conductor heating elements
and self-regulating heating cables.
At the event Heat Trace
managing director Dan Berrisford considered why innovation is so important
to his business and explained how Heat Trace’s commitment to invest in new
product research and development is paying off for this trailblazing company
and shared his experiences of actively pursuing true business innovation.
Pictured: From left: Helen
Crampton, Senior Inward Investment Officer for Cheshire West and Chester
Council; Dan Berrisford, Managing Director of Heat Trace Ltd; Matthew
Kimpton-Smith, Managing Director of Cygnet Group; Michael Dicker, Marketing
& Special Projects Manager; Gemma Davies, Senior Manager for
Economic Growth at Cheshire West & Chester Council.