BQ Export Awards 2014

European Circuits were delighted to be a finalist at the inaugural BQ Scottish Export Awards 2014, in association with Scottish Enterprise, in the Scottish Exporting Team of the Year Category. The awards ceremony took place at the Glasgow Science Centre on Wednesday 28th May and was hosted by journalist and businesswoman, Adrienne Lawler. We would like to congratulate all the winners of the evening as well as those who were nominated. The winners in each category were as follows: BEST START UP EXPORTER OF THE YEAR - Sponsored by Scottish Enterprise Brewmeister - www.brewmeister.co.uk Established in 2012 by a young student entreprenur with a £5,000 loan, Brewmeister is a small independent craft brewery based in the Moray town of Keith. The company began operating with a weekly production capacity of 1,000 bottles of beer, and since moving to a new 3,000 sq ft premises at the end of 2012 they have now increased production to 5,000 bottles per week. Brewmeister is anticipating it will achieve at least £600,000 of exporting based turnover this year, making it a successful export business for a firm in its early years. E-COMMERCE EXPORTER OF THE YEAR - Sponsored by Business Gateway Sumdog - www.sumdog.com Launched in 2010, Sumdog is an adaptive learning games website. Effectively Sumdog offers maths and reading games for children and currently have approximately 6,000,000 users around the world. What is particularly notable about this company is that nearly 98% of its sales are exported from Scotland from its Edinburgh office which employs 24 people. By organizing free maths tests, Sumdog interests teachers and parents in further products, which can be purchased through the on-line credit card system. The export strategy allows the company to sell products at a reasonable price against competitors who otherwise rely on distributors. ENTREPRENEURIAL EXPORTER OF THE YEAR - Sponsored by Business Gateway Alba Power Limited - www.albapower.com Alba Power started as a provider of spare parts for the famed Rolls-Royce Avon and Olympus gas turbines. The Stonehaven based company, with offices in Houston, then identified that there was a gaping hole in the market to offer exceptional service and help users of gas turbines who wanted to prolong the life of this technology. The business currently has over 140 gas turbine customers in 16 countries. Whilst operating with tough, technical and serious global sectors, directors Terry Alderton and Campbell Archibald believe their company success is the result of a strong and high performance team. Their culture is built upon understanding the customer's business and needs more than anyone else and delivering over and above expectations. In 2013 Alba Power was a finalist in the Northern Star Awards for outstanding contribution to the energy sector. INNOVATIVE EXPORTER OF THE YEAR - Sponsored by Santander Vegware Limited - www.vegware.com Edinburgh SME Vegware is the UK's first and only zero waste packaging firm, and the only completely compostable firm operating globally. Founded in 2006 by Joe and Lucy Frankel, Vegware is Scotland's 3rd fastest growing company (Deloitte Fast 50 Awards 2013) which has achieved 901% turnover growth in five years with sales on target for another 60% growth in 2014. Export successes within the last 12 months include new partnerships in the US, bringing Vegware products to voer 100 US distributors and thousands of food service establishments. INTERNATIONAL TRADE BEST PROFESSIONAL SERVICE ADVISOR Lingo24 - www.lingo24.com Edinburgh based translation agency, Lingo24 was set up by Founder and Chief Executive, Christian Arno back in 2001. Today the business has more than 200 staff in the UK, Germany, Romania, Panama, the Philippines and New Zealand and has just had another year of solid growth with revenues climbing 12% to £7.5 million. This follows heavy investment in technology in 2013 and strong sales in Asia and North America. With more than 60% of the company's revenue coming from outside the UK, the business has an impressive client list which includes the UN, World Bank, American Express and Save the Children Fund. 2014 looks set to be another exciting year for the business. SCOTTISH EXPORT TEAM OF THE YEAR ERIBÉ Knitwear - www.eribe.co.uk Founded in 1996, ERIBÉ Knitwear provides quality knitted garments and accessories which put a modern twist on Scottish heritage ideas, making customers feel positive, stylish and comfortable. As the company has grown Rosy Eribé has built a strong loyal team across a very horizontal structure, with each department manager coached through monthly appraisals by herself. Creating such strong and creative teams at ERIBÉ has enabled them to advance the company's objectives rapidly and allowed for smooth expansion. They have an open and transparent approach to doing business and view customers and agents as part of their team. SCOTTISH EXPORTER OF THE YEAR 2014 Lingo24 - www.lingo24.com This award was selected from the winners of the above awards.