Aquaread won the award for “Start Up Business of the Year” at the Kent Excellence in Business Award ceremony on Thursday 30th June 2011. The achievement was celebrated at a glittering event at the Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone which was staged and produced by Kent County Council and The KM Group.
Aquaread were selected as category winners after a tough judging process whittled down hundreds of entries to 3 finalists. Aquaread’s Managing Director, Craig Harrison, collected the specially created glass trophy that was presented by the University of Kent who were the sponsor for the award category.
“We are extremely proud to win this award” says Craig. “Recognition for our achievements as a business really backs up our claim that we are on track to be the world leaders in our industry. This award has not only raised our profile for existing customers, but will also give confidence to any new customers that they are dealing with an award winning respectable business.”
Aquaread were also short listed as a top 3 finalist for the “Best Technology and Science Business”. With the release of our new ground breaking probe later this year, we hope to win this and other awards next year so watch this space!
Kevin Lynes, Kent County Council Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development said “I was extremely proud to see, for the third year running, a room packed with so many outstanding businesses and entrepreneurs. All of the entrants were of a very high standard and Kent has once again shown that it really is the place to do business. My congratulations go to everyone who took part and in particular to the exceptional and deserving winners.”
Geraldine Allinson, Chairman of KM Group said "This is the third Kent Excellence in Business Awards and this year’s event raised the game, yet again, as far as awards schemes in this county are concerned. It truly was Kent’s business night of the year. My congratulations go to the finalists and worthy winners for achieving so much in a tough economic climate. This is a great county to do business in and, better placed than most to take advantage of the many opportunities ahead."
KEiBA aims to recognise and reward excellence in Kent and Medway businesses of all sizes as well as individual awards. It’s hoped that the awards will also boost staff morale and help attract new staff. Winning an award will also help businesses raise their profile in Kent.
All of the entries went through a rigorous judging process, which rated entrants against preset criteria to select a shortlist for each category. The judges then visited the short-listed entrants to carry out a more in-depth investigation through face-to-face interviews before selecting the list of finalists.
KEIBA Award winners Aquaread 2011