Firmac UK engineers double success at Chamber Bridlington and Yorkshire Coast Business Awards
John Rix (seated centre) with his Lifetime Achievement Award surrounded by other Chamber Bridlington and Yorkshire Coast Business Award winners celebrating with their awards.
FIRMAC UK engineered a double success at the Chamber Bridlington and Yorkshire Coast Business Awards on Friday night (Oct 16), while local business leader John Rix was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
The family engineering business won the Medium/Large Business of 2015 Award, as well scooping the honours as the Overall Winner, with the judges applauding the company’s innovation to protect themselves against changing market conditions and demonstrating that British engineering can still be world class.
Their citation said: “Firmac UK is a superb example of how a family engineering business can diversify from a traditional metalworking firm into a specialist ducting machine manufacturer which now competes internationally”. Since its launch in 1985, Firmac UK now has 71 staff and exports to more than 50 countries.
The Fisheries Business of 2015 Award was won by Bridlington-based SE Marine, which works across the whole of the UK making sure fishing boats are safe, proving that there is much more to the fishing industry than just catching fish!
The tourism and hospitality sector was right on track, but it was the North Bay Railway and Attractions which steamed away with the award in its category, in recognition of the way the previously council-run attraction has continued to expand and has now become a tourist destination in its own right, as well as keeping the railway and the water slide as major attractions in the resort.
S&J Synergy repeated last year’s success by winning this year’s Business with a Green Ethos Award, having quadrupled its turnover in a year and increased its range of services while creating a solid base for future expansion.
This year’s Business Person of the Year was Violet Sutcliffe, of Sutcliffe Consulting Engineers Ltd, for her work in modernising the business, while The Yorkshire Wagyu Company was named Start-Up Business of 2015.
The evening’s biggest standing ovation was reserved for the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, John Rix, who now heads up a diverse business which dates back to 1873 when sea Captain and Merchant Adventurer Robert Rix traded out of the Port of Hull. The company still owns ships, but this is only a small part of what it does today. Its diverse portfolio now includes stevedoring, warehousing, and car retailing through to fuel distribution, manufacturing and property development
In a surprise presentation, David Dowson presented a bottle of champagne to Bob Hillery and his wife Carole in recognition of more than 40 years’ service to Bridlington.
Martin Green, the chief executive of Hull City of Culture 2017, gave an inspiring talk about how businesses across the region can get involved and take advantage of the City of Culture year. Entertainment was provided by the Singing Waiters who got everybody laughing with their fun and games, while vocalist and guitarist Robin Campbell and pianist Martin Quinn entertained throughout the evening.
A charity raffle and auction helped to raise £5,500 for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, which operates two helicopters and saves lives across the Yorkshire region, but has to raise £4.4-million a year to cover operating costs.
Chairman of the Bridlington Chamber, Neil Watson, said: “The Chamber Bridlington and Yorkshire Coast Business Awards have been another great success. It was a sell-out event, with around 600 business people from across the Yorkshire region attending. I’d like to thank the organising team and of course our sponsors. We hope everyone enjoyed the night and we look forward to doing it all again next year”.
THE CHAMBER BRIDLINGTON AND YORKSHIRE COAST BUSINESS AWARDS WINNERS:
Start-Up Business of 2015: The Yorkshire Wagyu Company.
Small Business of 2015: AAC Power Systems.
Medium/Large Business of 2015: Firmac UK.
Social Enterprise of 2015: Yorkshire Coast Enterprise.
Business of 2015 with a Green Ethos: S&J Synergy.
Retailer of 2015: Flames of Hull.
Fisheries Business of 2015: SE Marine.
Tourism & Hospitality Business of 2015: North Bay Railway and Attractions.
Business of 2015 with High Staff Training: HBP Systems.
Business Person of 2015: Violet Sutcliffe.
Judges Award for Business Innovation 2015: Detectamet.
Overall Winner of 2015: Firmac UK.
Firmac UK Ltd who were the Overall Winners 2015.
