Enterprise Queen's Award success for 17 Scottish firms
- Published
Arbroath-based precision component manufacturer Interplex PMP was granted the Queen's Award for International Trade
Seventeen Scottish firms have been granted the prestigious Queen's Award for Enterprise.
They include Edinburgh-based architectural design studio Kettle Collective, Renfrewshire medical device innovator Vascutek and Glasgow-based laser manufacturer M Squared Lasers.
Two companies won awards for both innovation and international trade.
They were Edinburgh-based Liquid Gas Equipment and Renfrewshire firm Peak Scientific Instruments.
Kettle Collective won The Queen's Award for International Trade after seeing overseas business soar in the past few years.
The company was founded just over three years ago by Tony Kettle and Colin Bone, who previously worked together at RMJM.
It now has studios in Edinburgh and Dubai with a headcount of about 35. It also has local partners in Moscow, St Petersburg, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Beirut.
Kettle Collective's projects have included the new Gazprom headquarters in St Petersburg
High-profile projects include the concept design for the last phase of the new headquarters for Russian energy giant Gazprom in St Petersburg.
Its 462m tower will be Europe's tallest when complete in 2018.
In the Middle East, the firm has designed four museums for the Saudi Royal Commission and it is currently working on a solar innovation centre for the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority.
Managing director Colin Bone said: "We are very fortunate to have such a great team in Edinburgh and Dubai and great clients who both challenge us but also give us the space and support to design such innovative and creative projects."
QUEEN'S AWARD FOR INNOVATION 2016
* Vascutek - Inchinnan, Renfrewshire
* Peak Scientific Instruments - Inchinnan, Renfrewshire
* Procure Wizard - Loanhead, Midlothian
* M Squared Lasers - Glasgow
* Liquid Gas Equipment (trading as Babcock LGE Process) - Edinburgh
* Vegware - Edinburgh
QUEEN'S AWARD FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE 2016
* Alba Bioscience (trading as Quotient) - Penicuik, Midlothian
* Interplex PMP - Arbroath, Angus
* Flowline Specialists - Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire
* Kettle Collective - Edinburgh
* John Ross Jr (Aberdeen)- Aberdeen
* Online Valves - Dyce
* Peak Scientific - Inchinnan, Renfrewshire
* FAO27 - Dingwall
* HCS Control Systems - Glenrothes, Fife
* Entier - Aberdeen
* HRH Geology - Aberdeen
* Liquid Gas Equipment (trading as Babcock LGE Process) - Edinburgh
* Merlin ERD - Perth
Inchinnan-based Vascutek received the Queen's Award for Innovation after developing a surgical graft used to treat thoracic aortic disease.
Its Thoraflex Hybrid device, which is manufactured in Scotland, removes the need for a second major operation to treat the life-threatening condition.
The award marks the latest success for Vascutek, which has now received eight Queen's Awards in the company's 34-year history.
Paul Holbrook said Vascutek's Thoraflex Hybrid device had helped save the lives of more than 1,400 people around the world
President and chief executive Paul Holbrook said: "We are honoured to have been recognised for the development of Thoraflex Hybrid.
"This unique device has helped save the lives of more than 1,400 people around the world who have been diagnosed with arterial disease."
Liquid Gas Equipment, which trades as Babcock LGE Process, was granted an innovation award for its vent gas cooler, which is used in ships transporting liquefied gas.
It also collected an export award, having seen overseas sales grow by 180% over the last three years.
Peak Scientific Instruments won the Queen's Award for International Trade for the fifth time after achieving outstanding growth in overseas sales over three years.
The company, which makes laboratory gas generators for sectors such as analytical testing and the food and drink industry, also won the Queen's Award for Innovation for a service plan which guarantees clients an on-site engineer call-out anywhere in the world.
'Great heritage'
Other recipients this year include precision component manufacturer Interplex PMP, which was awarded the Queen's Award for International Trade in recognition of substantial growth in overseas earnings and commercial success.
The Arbroath-based business supplies the automotive, telecommunications and medical industries.
Managing director Stephen Barlow said: "The company has a great heritage in precision engineering and an excellent reputation for producing high-quality products.
"If you drive a car or use a broadband connection, the chances are that they contain components manufactured by Interplex."
Another recipient was Edinburgh firm Vegware, which specialises in eco-friendly packaging. It collected an innovation award for a business model built around the manufacture of compostable packaging.
M Squared Lasers picked up an innovation award for developing an automated laser toolkit for the exploitation of new phenomena in quantum and material sciences.
Meanwhile, there was an export award for Aberdeen-based HRH Geology, which specialises in operational geology software and services to the oil and gas industry.
Recent successes for the business include a large software-related contract in Indonesia and the first deployment of its advanced gas analysis service in the Middle East.