Sponsored by corporate recovery specialist Begbies Traynor, the award aims to honour printing companies that have achieved a "significant and positive" turnaround in their business.

"The primary judge is financial performance and well be looking at entrants statements, but were also interested in the steps theyve taken to get there," said Cicely Brown, head of corporate and external affairs at the BPIF.

"We want to know what changes have been made in management, workforce and operations and how the business has been stabilised for the future."

Last month, Begbies Traynor senior partner Nick Hood told the BPIFs Navigating Your Way Through the Challenges seminar that formal insolvency procedures were "not the disaster you might think for firms looking to change their fortunes". (PrintWeek, 31 May).

"Were ready to look at running similar events but theres been very little interest from printers," said Brown.

"Our short courses reflect requests made by printers and its disappointing that none have asked us to cover this area."

The BPIF Excellence Awards take place on 9 September at the London Marriott. The closing date for entries is 24 June. Contact: www.bpif.org.uk.

* The BPIF has introduced a new flexible programme of short courses aimed at meeting its members needs. New courses address complete business issues as well as individual technical issues. They include Building a Value Adding Team, Conducting a Business Review and Restructuring Your Business.

Story by Anna Clarke