The 2016 Medway Business Awards
The 2016 Winners
2016 Medway Business Award
2016 Overall Winner
A three-generation fruit farm scooped the top prize and a £1000 cheque at the 2016 Medway Business Awards gala night at Priestfield. Furley Page made the presentation to multi-award winning apple and pear growers AC Goatham & Son, of Rochester which has 17 farms including 11 in Medway and 20 partner farms across Kent. With 230 fulltime staff, the company has been growing world class fruit since 1947 and uses the latest science and technology enabling it to extend the in-store season for British apples and pears. This helps displace the need for imported fruit to ensure a sustainable future for Medway and Britain’s top fruit industry. After the presentation the company donated its £1000 prize to the charity of the evening, The Oliver Fisher Special Baby Unit.
Manufacturing Excellence Award
Manufacturing Excellence Award
The Manufacturing Excellence Award presented by the University of Greenwich went to award-winning Aeromet International Ltd., one of the world’s top manufacturing companies for the aerospace and motorsport industries. Based at Laker Road, Rochester, its 83-strong staff produce cast-metal parts for all families of Airbus aircraft.
Fast Track to Success Award
Fast Track to Success Award
The Fast Track to Success Award prize presented by Southeastern went to railway specialists AM1 Projects. In just five years the company’s assignments have enabled it to grow from a two-man band in a garden shed to a local, 40-strong workforce. Based at Hopewell Drive, Chatham, the company looks after everything electrical on the rail network and has been awarded the prestigious principal contractors’ licence from Network Rail.
Success through Training Award
Success through Training Award,
The Success through Training Award, presented by ECITB went to Rochester-based BB7 Fire Ltd. From an amazing seven-year success, this international fire prevention expert is now setting its sights beyond fire risk to terrorism, cyber threats and climate change. This globally acclaimed firm sponsors its staff to study undergraduate and post graduate courses and has recently employed three local civil engineering graduates.
Ahead of the Market Award
Ahead of the Market Award
Kent Business School presented the Ahead of the Market Awards to Strood-based Digital Contact. This is a large data technology company specialising in real time analysis of digital content. With a focus on the financial industry, it designed its big data platform and dashboard technologies for financial institutions, with the goal of enabling users to make better, smarter trading decisions and expose them to a wider set of equities than before.
Equipped for Growth Award
Equipped for Growth Award
The Equipped for Growth Award, presented by Handelsbanken went to The Food Machinery Company. Almost all food retailers place their products for sale after processing into bags of apples or ready-made meals and the chances are the equipment will have been supplied by the Food Machinery Company Ltd. The company based at Hoo, designs, maintains and constructs food processing machinery both home and abroad.
The charity of the evening was the Oliver Fisher Baby Unit at Medway Maritime which is renowned for its lifesaving skills. With £1292 collected throughout the evening, after the generous donation by the winner AC Goatham, the total raised was £2292.
The 2016 Finalists
Click the images to find out more about each company
