Cambridge-based Domino Printing Sciences has won a Queen’s Award for innovation, in recognition of its A-Series i-Tech range of industrial continuous inkjet printers.
Domino said these printers have been designed utilising significant advances in innovation and technology, leading to enhancements in the cleaning and servicing of printers, handling waste, reducing ink usage and optimising print quality.
This is the sixth Queen’s Award for Domino since it was established in 1978. It last won an award in 2012, for continuous achievement in international trade.
Domino Printing Sciences chief executive Nigel Bond said: “We are honoured and proud to have been selected for a Queen’s Award for innovation.
“It is a fitting tribute to our skilled and talented team who have worked on the A-Series and i-Tech ink system which is proving so popular with customers across the world and is delivering real benefits to their operations.”
Leatherhead-based HH Global won a Queen’s Award for international trade.
The group said this recognition has come off the back of double-digit growth across all of its operating regions in the past year and combined overseas sales of 52%, or over £160m, in its top five overseas markets – North America, Hong Kong, India, China and Germany.
In the past 18 months new companies have also been integrated into the organisation in South Africa, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea and it has opened new offices in six further countries in Latin America to work more closely with some of its biggest clients.
HH Global chief executive Robert MacMillan said: “We are honoured to have been recognised for our entrepreneurial and innovative-oriented culture by Her Majesty the Queen.
“The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the UK’s most prestigious business prize and to be acknowledged is a remarkable feat, especially as this is the third time we have won the award.”
Stockport-based APS Group also received a Queen’s Award for international trade, in recognition of its significant short-term growth.
The company has seven international offices including Eindhoven, Paris and Boston, with operations out of these hubs serving a further 64 countries worldwide. The business has doubled in size over the past five years, achieving a 105% increase in turnover in the past three years.
APS Group managing director Nick Snelson said: “It’s a tremendous honour to have won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise. Our ‘make more possible’ strapline is intrinsic to everything we do for our customers and winning this award is testament to this ethos.
“I’m immensely proud of this achievement and would like to thank the fantastic teams we have in place all over the world as well as the continued support of our customers and supply partners.”
Others recognised included The Art File, an independent publisher of greetings cards, stationery and gifts, and Vectric, which makes software for CNC cutters, both of which won a Queen’s Award for international trade. Furthermore, digital signage company Allsee Technologies won an award for innovation.
In total, 176 businesses from across the UK were recognised for their contribution to international trade, innovation, sustainable development and promoting opportunity.
The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are now in their 51st year. According to research by the University of Strathclyde, 73% of international trade winners between 2012 and 2015 directly attributed increased international sales to winning a Queen’s Award.
Awards are presented to winners at their companies by one of the Queen’s representatives, a Lord-Lieutenant.
Winners are also invited to a royal reception held at Buckingham Palace in July, which is hosted by the Queen, and are able to use the Queen’s Awards emblem in their marketing and on packaging for the next five years.
Entry to the 2018 Queen’s Awards opens today (21 April) and closes on Friday 1 September 2017. To apply, and for more information, go to: bit.ly/QAFE2018.
