A trio of city region firms are the latest recipients of Queen’s Awards for Enterprise. Tony McDonough reports

GLOBAL business changes rapidly, but it seems the old-fashioned Royal seal of approval can still provide a boost for British firms trading both at home and overseas.

Last week saw the latest batch of UK firms receive their Queen’s Awards for Enterprise 2011.

This year, there were three recipients in the Liverpool city region – RS Clare, in Liverpool; EA Technology, based at Capenhurst, near Chester; and Skelmersdale-based social enterprise, Brighter Future Workshop.

Winners are entitled to put the Queen’s Award logo on their stationery and marketing material for five years.

Both current and past winners say the accolade can give them a significant advantage when attempting to win new business.

RS Clare, Merseyside’s oldest-surviving manufacturer, has won the Queen’s Award for International Trade.

The firm was founded in 1748 and has been at its current Stanhope Street site since 1795, where it produces specialist lubricants for the oil and gas industry as well as the rail, car, steel and construction sectors.

It exports to more than 30 countries worldwide, with exports accounting for almost 50% of turnover. New markets include Africa, Syria, Romania, Gabon, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The firm has expanded this year, with the number of employees rising by 20% to 68, and it has an annual turnover of £12m.

Its gate valve lubricants are used by several major oil companies globally, and the China market is opening up for all its product sectors.

RS Clare was visited last month by Lord Green, Minister for Trade & Investment, and congratulated on its contribution to strengthening the local economy through manufacturing and international trade.

Chairman Ian Meadows said: “To us at RS Clare, the Queen’s Award is the ultimate accolade. It’s the one logo that everyone wants to wear on the corporate shirt.

“We have become accustomed to winning awards since the RAC presented to us the massive Ballymenagh Trophy over a century ago for Britain’s ‘foremost dust laying compound for road surfaces’.

“But the Queen’s Award for International Trade is a step change.

“It reflects on the whole team at Clare, and we are very proud.

“Internationally acclaimed, it has enhanced our credibility globally, and that will doubtless contribute to even stronger export growth both in specialist lubricants and surface coatings where we are building significant niche market positions.”

The winner of the Queen’s Award for Innovation is EA Technology, of Capenhurst. It is the second time the firm has won it.

EA won the award for the development of instruments for use in the electricity industry, which can identify faults before they lead to failures and power cuts, improving efficiency, reliability and safety.

In the last three years, sales of its UltraTEV products have soared 345%.

EA’s development director, Neil Davies, said: “The Queen’s Award for Innovation is a great honour for the company and for all the team.

“The award carries real weight around the world and confirms our position as innovators of highly specific equipment in the field of energy technology.Š

“The Queen’s Award is a top industrial honour, and I feel it reinforces Cheshire’s standing as a centre of excellence in the industry.”

EA has also doubled its workforce to nearly 200 and won orders in 86 countries during a time of global recession.

More than 85% of its UltraTEV products are exported, with growth markets including China.

The original UltraTEV instrument won the Queen’s Award for Innovation in 2007 and has given rise to three subsequent generations of product development, with a fourth on the way.

When the award was first announced in April, chief executive Robert Davis said: “Our second award recognises the imperative for companies like ours to keep innovating if we want to succeed in world markets.

“We reinvest more than 15% of our revenue in innovation annually, and in the last year we have doubled the size of our product development team. Now we are set to double it again.

“The Government says it wants to see more new products designed in Britain and made in Britain to get the economy moving again and create jobs. That’s exactly what we do.”

Originally formed as the research and development arm of the UK electricity industry, EA Technology became independent in 1997.

The company is owned by its employees and has operations in Australia, China, the Middle East and the US.

Brighter Future Workshop, in Skelmersdale, has won the Queen’s Award for its outstanding commitment to enhancing the lives of the local community.

The enterprise has recycled more than 5,000 items of used mobility equipment, as well as providing over 3,000 training places in a disability-friendly workshop to train those with physical, medical, learning or emotional problems.

Chairman Peter Cousins said: “We have received plenty of calls since winning the Queen’s Award, and I feel it definitely has the potential to help our business.

“We are only a small social enterprise, so we are delighted to have received this accolade and I feel it can only do the business good.”

The Brighter Future Workshop was set up in April, 2005.

It exists to enhance the lives of people who are disabled – many have become disadvantaged, and isolated, largely due to the shortage of suitable, reliable and affordable mobility equipment. Its aim is to ensure that disabled people who have little or no mobility can still function in the local community and society in general.

Liverpool scrap metal recycling firm S Norton has been the recipient of two Queen’s Awards for International Trade – in 2004 and 2009.

Its 2009 win came off the back of a three-year period of growth during which its export business grew by £39m.

David Hulse, the company’s public affairs advisor, said winning the award was a great boost for business and for the morale of its staff.

“It is like a badge of honour,” he said.

“When we talk to potential overseas customers, they see that as evidence of our good standing.

“It is a great morale boost. When we first won it in 2004, we held a big party for all the staff at a Liverpool hotel.”