Pictured above: (l-r) Kavita Oberoi and Sukhi Ghuman collect Octavian's awards on the night

Octavian Security is celebrating after a double triumph at the prestigious Minority Supplier Development UK (MSDUK) 2010 Awards. Octavian, which recently expanded into the US, received awards for Overall Supplier of the Year and Responsible Business Practice. 

Sukhi Ghuman, owner and founder of Octavian Security, who collected the awards on the night with co-owner, Kavita Oberoi said: "To pick up these two awards in the same night is a testament to the hard work the team has put in over the last year. 

"We hoped that we would have a good chance with the Responsible Business Practice award as we have always strived to improve the way that security suppliers are perceived and quality has been our mantra. The Overall Supplier of the Year award was a surprise, though, as we were up against some great businesses." 

For Mayank Shah of MSDUK, Octavian were worthy winners. He said: "Each of the three companies who won their supplier award categories were extremely capable and outstanding in their own right. However, it was Octavian's fantastic growth over the years, its strong CSR policy, portfolio of blue chip clients and its aggressive overseas activity in the US, which helped in to steal the lead on the night." 

The award wins have continued a stellar year for the company. Its new US arm, Octavian Security USA, has just secured investment from serial American entrepreneur Maurice Kanbar, whilst the UK operation has been awarded the Checkport UK franchise to become the official UK aviation security division of Swissport International.

Sukhi points to the fact that these awards are recognition of a company on its way up. He added: "It's great to be recognised for improving quality in a recession rather than quality being in decline, as is often the norm for service provision. In this climate anything that you can do to help differentiate a business from competitors is a good thing."

MSDUK is the UK's premier membership organisation championing supplier diversity, and organises the MSDUK Supplier Diversity Awards on a biennial basis. This year's ceremony took place in front of an audience of 400 at the London Marriott, Grosvenor Square Hotel. 

The Awards applaud ethnic minority businesses that have excelled in building and expanding their firms to meet the challenging demands of the market and clients, as well as corporate buyers who have explored and added ethnic minority businesses to their list of regular suppliers. 

Kavita Oberoi is fully aware of the importance these two award wins could have on the company. She adds: "Award wins give people another reason to believe in our offer and show proof that we're doing something better than the competition. They also help us to attract the best people to work for us, as they know that they will be working for a business that's serious about people development and customer care."