Three historic firms were honoured at last week’s Regional Business Awards. Alistair Houghton reports

THE winners’ list at this year’s Liverpool Daily Post Regional Business Awards shows it’s not just fine wines that improve with age – the same is true of some great Merseyside companies.

Sir Michael Bibby, the sixth generation of his family to run shipping and finance group Bibby Group since it was founded in 1807, was named Business Person of the Year, reflecting the continuing success of the £1bn-turnover conglomerate.

The Medium Business of the Year title was won by chemicals firm RS Clare, which can trace its origins back to the 18th century.

And the Business of the Year award was claimed by Cammell Laird, a famous Merseyside name, dating back to the mid- 19th century, which was rescued from oblivion by a management team led by John Syvret.

So how have these companies, with 620 years between them, managed to thrive for so long?

For Ian Meadows, chairman of RS Clare, the message is that only those companies prepared to change and adapt can survive for so many decades.

The company was founded in 1748 by Richard Clare as a druggist and manufacturing chemist, but soon became a turpentine distiller and has changed its focus many times since.

It developed quick-drying paint for road kerbs and signposts before putting the first road markings down, in Sloane Square in London, during World War I.

The company’s long history will earn it its own exhibit in the new Museum of Liverpool when it opens next year. The centrepiece will be the 100oz solid silver Ballymenagh Trophy that it won in 1907 for creating the most effective dust-laying compound for road surfacing.

Today, RS Clare is a world-leading lubricant manufacturer, with its products used in the oil and gas industry throughout the world.

Mr Meadows, whose family bought the business in 1889, said: “We have changed fundamentally 10 times in 260 years.

“Some of those changes have been evolutionary, some revolutionary. But, if we hadn’t changed, we wouldn’t be here today.

“If we’d stayed with distilling turpentine, or making paint, we wouldn’t be here today.

“You have to move on. If there’s a core running through it, something to define our longevity, it’s about not doing things for the short term. That was instilled in me from childhood.”

Mr Meadows says RS Clare’s recent success, culminating in last week’s award, can be traced back to changes he introduced 20 years ago when he decided to strip away the company’s old hierarchical structure to encourage more innovation.

The company is also focusing more on niche products that offer higher margins, such as its specialised lubricants for the oil and gas sector.

That has ensured more growth so the company is well-placed to ride out the current turmoil. “We had a record year in 2008,” said Mr Meadows. “That enables us to invest in further growth, which is what it’s all about.

“The first half of this year is stronger than last year. I think we’re going to have a strong second half.”

Bibby Line was founded in 1807 by John Bibby, and has evolved into today’s Bibby Group.

It still has a shipping arm but today focuses on areas from financial services to retail, through its Costcutter arm.

Sir Michael Bibby agrees with Mr Meadows that companies must adapt to survive.

“For example, in the 1960s, we carried troops by sea,” said Sir Michael. “They started going by aeroplane.

“We have had to reinvent ourselves in the last 50 years on two or three occasions.

“Now we try to position ourselves to look at what the next growth opportunities will be. We don’t sit back and hope our existing businesses will be great forever.”

Sir Michael, as the sixth generation of the Bibby family to run the group, also believes that family-owned companies are able to take a longer view than listed firms who are always focusing on the next set of accounts.

He said: “It’s probably a sign of the times that the family businesses have taken a slightly more conservative view of their investments and gearing, so they are in a much better position to ride out the downturn.”

Sir Michael is proud of Bibby Group’s history, but says the business will never sit back and let the past do the talking.

“The history is important for our brand and reputation, and for the learning experience it has given us as a group of shareholders,” he said.

“But the focus for the business has to be on the future.

“It’s very easy to look back at your history and think it’s wonderful. But we want to be seen as a forward-looking organisation, not just a 200-year-old shipping business.”

Cammell Laird does not strictly boast the same long, continuous history of RS Clare and Bibby Group, but the name dates back to the early 19th century and still resonates round the international shipping world.

When the old Cammell Laird collapsed in 2001, the name disappeared from the Mersey – and many thought it would never return. But John Syvret, who founded Northwestern Shiprepairers and Shipbuilders (NSL) in 2001 with other members of the Cammell Laird management team, had other ideas.

As NSL grew, and moved into the former Cammell Laird shipyard, Mr Syvret planned to bring the name back. NSL was winning massive contracts, including a Ministry of Defence deal potentially worth up to £1bn over 30 years, but management believed it could do even better under the Cammell Laird brand.

The company renamed itself in November. Mr Syvret said: “By renaming ourselves Cammell Laird, we aim to catapult the business forward.

“Cammell Laird is an internationally recognised brand which carries tremendous goodwill when bidding for contracts.

“We want to offer our services and support to UK and European shipyards and customers, and expand the business. As NSL, we have an enviable track record of delivering work of the highest standards of quality and expertise.

“We want to use the Cammell Laird name to build on this reputation and grow an even bigger business out of this shipyard, driving wealth and job creation on Merseyside and in the North.”

Age is clearly no barrier to success for companies such as Bibby Group, RS Clare and Cammell Laird. Times are hard for all firms, but those three hope their history and experience will be more than enough to see them through.

alistair.houghton