2 LEICESTER MERCURY TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013 LDM-E01-S3 LM03w w w.thisisleicestershire.co.uk LDM-E01-S3 LM03 TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013 LEICESTER MERCURY 3w w w.thisisleicestershire.co.uk

Leicester Mercury Business Awards 2013 Export Award

A night to salute ourbusiness successesMore than 520 peopleattended the inauguralLeicester Mercury BusinessAwards to celebrateL e i c e s t e r s h i re’s top-performing companies.

Twelve awards were handedto a range of businesses duringa glamorous ceremony, high-lighting the diversity and resi-lience of the county economy.

The Leicester Mercury has

taken over the running of theawards in its 20th year, makingit bigger and better than ever.

The event was sponsored byDe Montfort University, FreethCartwright and RSM Tenon.

Mercury publisher DavidSimms said: “What theseawards aim to highlight is thatnot everything is doom andgloom: far from it. Theseawards represent business suc-

cess at its best and are a greatshowcase for companies thathave positive and inspiringstories to tell. We need to be re-minded that there are sectorsand there are businesses thathave bucked the economictrend and this event is a right-ful celebration of excellenceand performance.

“It is so important at the mo-ment that we do celebrate and

highlight success.“These awards are, in my

view, the biggest businessawards competition in the EastMidlands and they do a greatjob of bringing businesses to-gether and helping to develop areal sense of business com-munity for the region.”

The keynote speaker wasBusiness Secretary VinceCable who praised the wide

RU N N E R S - U P

WINNER’S REACTION

❛❜I THINK the word that sumsup how we feel is proud, be-cause it’s a real effort foreverybody in the business,not just the people who arehere tonight.

“The vast majority of whatwe sell is exported and someof the markets we export toare challenging but we areg rowing.

James Wheeler,head of sales,

Guidance Navigation

■ FO R M A X■ FOSTERS TRADITIONALFO O DS

How Guidanceleads the wayGuidance Navigation designsand makes sophisticatedsensors for huge ships andindustrial robots, enablingthem to manoeuvre safelyand accurately.

More than 85 per cent of itssales last year came from ex-ports, helping to increase itsturnover by 70 per cent to£14.5million.

Its products have a huge glob-

al appeal, with the marine divi-sion taking in offshore oil andgas exploration, while its auto-mated guided vehicle scannersare used in a range of industri-al environments.

They are shipped to the USAand Gulf of Mexico, while thefast-growing economies ofBrazil, Russia and countries inWest Africa are all areas whereGuidance is focussed on in-creasing its presence.

It has devised long-termstrategies for each of these loc-ations and dedicated sales

teams aim to develop success-ful working relationships withkey business contacts withinthose regions.

In order to respond quickly tocustomer needs the companyhas developed a worldwide net-work of service engineers inplaces such as the USA, Mex-ico, Brazil, UAE, India, Malay-sia and Singapore.

In 2006, the company, based atMeridian Business Park,Braunstone, with a workforceof 90, won the prestigiousQ u e e n’s Award for Export.

SPONSORED BY

WINNER: GUIDANCE NAVIGATION

G LO BA LR E AC H :TheGuidanceteam

L E M A 2 0 1 3 03 2 1 A - 0 6 6 _ C

PRIDE: Guidance Navigation. From left, Peter Paxton, MartinSchaefer, James Wheeler, Peter Hogarth, of Export Awardsponsor UK Trade and Investment and James Grimshaw

range of thriving businesses inthe county.

He said successful enter-prises, such as the 30 finalistsat this year’s awards, had a vi-tal role to play in the economicre c ove r y.

“I just want to celebrate theachievements of the compan-ies in this room and thank theLeicester Mercury and others p o n s o r s, ”he said.

“Thank you very much for al-lowing me to be part of your cel-e b r at i o n s. ”

Dr Cable spoke about the im-portance of the City Deal pro-gramme, which would give thecity and county more controlover funding, in helping togrow the local economy.

Guests were also treated to anentertaining and awe-inspir-ing routine by magician andmind reader Graham Jolley,who has performed in Las Ve-gas and on prime-time Sat-urday night television.

THE FIRST-EVER LEICESTER MERCURY BUSINESS AWARDS WAS AN UPBEATSHOWCASE FOR OUR BEST FIRMS. BUSINESS EDITOR IAN GRIFFIN REP ORTS

ENTERTAINER: Magician andmind reader Graham Jolley

PICTURE: CHRIS GORDON

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Business Secretary Vince Cable praised the wide range of businesses whose achievements were celebrated at the awards ceremony

DELIGHT: The Company of theYear accolade went to IntelligentEnergy at this year’s LeicesterMercury Business Awards

Headline SponSorS:

in aSSoCiaTion WiTH:

Congratulations to all thewinners of the Leicester Mercury

Business Awards 2013

UNLOCK YOUR OVERSEAS POTENTIAL

Leicestershire has never been short onbig ideas. Fromengineering to science,fromarts to fashion, Leicestershire hasbeen a part of the UK creativity thathas been shaping the world forcenturies.

There’s never been a better time totrade internationally and help isat hand for those East Midlandsbusinesses looking to crack overseasmarkets.

Recent academic research confirmsthat exporting companies are moreproductive thannonexporters, achievestronger financial performance, andaremore likely to stay in business.

So whether you’re completely new toexporting,havesomeexperience, orarelooking to expand a well establishedrange of global markets and services,there’s always more you can do toincrease your bottom line.

If you would like to know more about the support UK Trade & Investment could giveyour company call 0845 052 4001 or email info@uktiem.co.uk

Your next opportunity... our expertise

Headline SponSorS:

in aSSoCiaTion WiTH:

Congratulations to all thewinners of the Leicester Mercury

Business Awards 2013