North East Companies Recognised in 2020 Queen’s Awards
Businesses from across the North East have been named among the winners in the 2020 Queen’s Awards for Enterprise.
The awards are made annually by the Queen and are given for the “highest levels of excellence” demonstrated in categories including international trade, innovation and sustainable development.
Those honoured are able to use the esteemed Queen’s Awards emblem for the next five years.
Seven businesses from the North East have been recognised among the 220 national recipients, which include 128 winners of the international trade award, 66 winners of the innovation award, 19 winners of the sustainable development award and seven winners of the promoting opportunity award.
The most recognised category in the North East is international trade, of which there are six winners.
WorkCast Corporation, which has a base in Sunderland, won a Queen’s Award for international trade for its webinar platform, designed to bring together innovative webinar services with proactive support.
Newton Aycliffe-based arts and crafts products business Crafter’s Companion also won the award after adapting all of its products to be sold internationally. The company employs more than 190 people and operates a site in California.
Others include Redcar-based Absolute Antibody, which specialises in antibody sequencing, manufacturing and engineering, along with manufacturing giant Prima Cheese, cable management products supplier D-Line and radiation detection group Kromek.
Dr Arnab Basu, chief executive of Kromek, said: “It is an honour to receive this prestigious award following a period of significant international growth for Kromek. We have secured contracts worth millions of pounds through our deepened relationships with governments and companies worldwide.”
Newcastle-headquartered Shared Interest Society won the award for sustainable development. The business is an ethical investment organisation which aims to alleviate poverty by helping people in remote and disadvantaged communities, to trade and earn a living.
The organisation acts co-operatively with more than 11,500 investors pooling their £44m of investments to provide loans and credit facilities to primarily fair-trade businesses to ensure that farmers are paid on time for their crops.