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Welsh Firms Shine at the Celebrating Small Business Awards

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The winners of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Celebrating Small Business Awards have been announced at a ceremony in Cardiff.

Presented by journalist and presenter Andrea Byrne at voco St. David’s Cardiff Hotel, the ceremony saw awards collected by small businesses from across Wales for 12 categories.

Chosen from dozens of finalists and out of hundreds of entrants overall, the winners will now have the chance to be crowned UK Small Business of the Year at the national final in Birmingham.

Community Furniture Aid scooped up the Community Award, for their services to the local community in Bridgend, where they fully furnish homes for people escaping domestic abuse situations, or those facing homelessness.

Meanwhile, Becws Islyn, a family bakery in Aberdaron run by Geraint and Gillian Jones scoops the Family of the Year Award, after successfully demonstrating how the family business’s nature and value have contributed to success across the business.

Following the award, Gillian Jones, of Becws Islyn said “Our family means everything to us- so the fact that we have been awarded Family Business of the Year is very special. It feels emotional to be recognised for the love and care that we give to our family and our business.”

Winners of the coveted Sustainability Award are The Pure Option, based at Llanhilleth Industrial Estate. The company specialises in replacing single use plastic packaging with plant-based alternatives. Founded by husband-and-wife team, Charles and Deb Richardson in 2018, the firm will be joining the other winners in heading to the national heat in Birmingham.

The award-winning design and manufacturing company LIMB-Art based in Blychau was named Exporter of the Year. Dedicated to producing cool prosthetic leg covers for amputees all over the world, the company was founded by paralympic swimming and medallist Mark Williams and his wife Rachael.

The Wales Young Entrepreneur of the Year winner was Chris Whittaker from The Platts Group, based in Wrexham. Following the announcement, Whittaker said “I feel incredibly grateful and humbled to have received this award. Starting a new company takes an immense amount of effort, so it's an amazing feeling to be recognized for our hard work. I owe this achievement to the amazing team around me, as I couldn't have done it without them.”

Ben Francis, FSB Wales Policy Chair said:

“It’s fantastic to see the incredible achievements of small businesses from across Wales recognized and celebrated at this year’s FSB Celebrating Small Business Awards.

The winners have shown incredible tenacity and innovation and are a true testament to the vibrancy of Wales’ small business community. Congratulations to all the winners and finalists, who have demonstrated outstanding commitment to their customers, employees, and local communities. We wish them all the best of luck as they go forward to the UK final in Birmingham and compete for the title of UK Small Business of the Year.”

Shortlisted firms:

Community Award

  • WINNER: Community Furniture Aid

CFA fully furnishes homes for people running away from domestic abuse, have been homeless or from one of the 80 agencies that refer clients to us in Bridgend County. Imagine that you could not return to your home and were allocated a totally empty property and with limited funds you had to completely furnish and make it a home. By recycling household items that the public are throwing away, we transform an empty property into a comfortable home and have been doing so for the last nine years.

Business and Product Innovation Award

Net World Sports is a global eCommerce business that is on a journey to becoming the largest online sports equipment retailer in the world. Since launching in 2009, we have successfully cemented our name as a premier sports equipment supplier both in the UK and overseas. Our expansive range of high-quality, predominantly own-brand products can be found in homes, schools, grassroot & professional clubs worldwide.

We cover a multitude of sports, from football and cricket to more niche sporting markets such as pickleball and handball. Our recent rapid growth has enabled us to explore untapped markets and introduce further sub-brands.

Larger Small Business of the Year 2023

Pontus Research Ltd, founded in 2014 and employing 14 people across 2 sites (Wales and Singapore), provides high quality client focused research and development to internationally recognised companies developing new and innovative products, processes, and services targeted at the global aquaculture sector. We run multiple nutrition and health focused trials in fish and shrimp, as well as participating in international research projects, helping our clients and partners develop feeds, additives, supplements, health promoting and disease prevention products. Through our work, we support the sustainable growth of the global aquaculture industry, an essential food production sector.

Family Business of the Year 2023

  • WINNER: Becws Islyn

Becws Islyn, in Aberdaron, is the only bakery west of Pwllheli on. The business is led by Geraint and Gillian Jones and has been established since 2011. Taking over an existing business, Gillian and Geraint transformed Becws Islyn into one of the most well-known and innovative food businesses in this area of North Wales. This also included transforming the existing building into one the area’s most iconic business establishments and becoming a major magnet for both local residents and visitors to the area.

Micro Business of the Year 2023

Ali founded Needle Rock in 2013 out of her passion for rescuing old furniture. Fast-forward 10 years; Needle Rock is now a mature business and is accredited with the Association of Master Upholsterers. Needle Rock offers unique and remarkable upholstery in which luxury fabrics combine with exclusive design to form stunning masterpieces. Needle Rock aspires to be bold, brave and unafraid. Our team has considerable experience with traditional and modern upholstery for domestic (sofas, chairs, chaises); commercial (pubs, clubs, restaurants); and caravans, narrowboats and motorhomes (with our own rental vehicle). We also have our own quirky range of designer cushions.

Self-Employed/Freelancer of the Year 2023

I’m an award-winning architect and artist based in Cardiff. I use my work to help customers connect with the people, places or moments that matter. I do this by creating bespoke memory boxes – curated collections of treasured objects – and intricately detailed drawings, inspired by my architecture experience. In the last two years, I’ve featured on Radio 4 and have been commissioned by the likes of Tower Bridge, the National Trust, Microsoft and the National Museum of Wales.

Start-Up Business of the Year 2023

Helen Worrall & Tania Dutnell launched Cardigan Bay Properties in February 2021, in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. An independent estate agency, they wanted to offer buyers and sellers a professional, more personal service that makes the most of their specialist local knowledge and market expertise.

The company brings a fresh, innovative approach to the estate agency market in west Wales, providing a hybrid service that combines both traditional and online services. Utilising the latest online technologies, their business model is focused on streamlining the estate agency process while maintaining the highest levels of service for every client.

Sustainability Award 2023

The Pure Option was started in 2018 with the lofty mission to replace the un-natural problem of petrol-based plastics with a natural plant-based alternative.

We believe we have been successful, as we now have 400+ products made from plants.

We like to think of ourselves as concerned citizens with a lofty mission to say “goodbye” to single use plastics.

We do this with a solution led approach, as we hate barriers, if you want to use a straw or take-away coffee, why shouldn't you, just change the material to a plant-based material, a truly barrier free approach.

Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2023

Chris Whittaker is 3rd generation Family Director at the Platts Group and Managing Director of Platts Transport Limited. Platts Transport Limited was born during the pandemic, in April 2020, from now-sister company Platts Agriculture, instigated by then 24-year-old Chris. Since then, the company has thrived, and become an award-winning General Haulage company in it’s own right.

Since then, 2 new start-ups have been established under Chris’ entrepreneurial leadership and drive, including a company promoting fitness and nutrition for those within the HGV driving industry, and a video-marketing content agency.

Exporter of the Year 2023

LIMB-art is a multi-award winning design and manufacturing company based in the heart of beautiful North Wales dedicated to producing cool prosthetic leg covers for amputees all over the world

Founded in 2018 by former Paralympic swimmer and medallist, Mark Williams and his wife Rachael, LIMB-art was born out of an overwhelming desire to help other prosthetic users raise their confidence, be proud of what they have and very simply, but equally importantly have fun showing off whilst doing so!

Limb-art is the first prosthetic leg cover ever to be listed on the NHS.

Diversity & Inclusion Award 2023

BE.Xcellence, strives to increase the social mobility of ethnic minorities' in South Wales, by identifying gaps in Education, Business and Media. Our aim is to raise representation, so that all voices are heard and lived experiences understood. Whilst championing diversity and inclusion, and celebrating positive contributions to Wales, our projects eliminate stereotypes and provide awareness of diverse groups, to the wider Wales communities.

Service Excellence Award 2023

We are a translation agency based in Chepstow, providing professional translation and language services exclusively to the market research industry.

This includes survey translation, open-end response handling, transcription of focus group recordings, product testing and moderation of online research communities – across all languages. Since its inception, Empower has grown from a 1-person band to a team of 25+ in-house employees, with a global client base, 600+ freelance partners worldwide, and a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade (2022).

 

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Business News Wales