Firms from across the region are battling it out for honours in
next year's Midlands Business Awards.
A total of 45 contestants have been shortlisted for the awards,
for which the main sponsor is ARUP, and their locations range from
Chesterfield and Stoke-on-Trent to Worcester and Warwick with all
places in between.
Manufacturers, distributors, professional services and advisers
have all made the shortlist for the nine categories of award. There
is a special section for universities, with five contenders, and
the size of enterprise taking part varies widely. The common thread
is an entrepreneurial approach to the business.
The awards are now in their fifth year and have grown annually.
They culminate in a gala dinner and ceremony to be held on Friday
28January 2011 at the NEC Hilton Metropole Hotel. This year's guest
of honour will be Caroline Waters OBE - Director of People and
Policy for BT Group.
Harj Sandher, MD of the Leamington-based organisers UK Special
Events, the company behind the event, said: "Feedback from the
judges indicates that the awards are growing in popularity and in
quality. That makes their job much harder and some of the debates
on the finalists have been very intense.
"We keep saying that the range of talent in the Midlands is huge
and the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and kicking and it has
never been more true. Our winners to date have found the whole
experience extremely positive."
The next stage for the finalists is a face-to-face interview
with the judging panel but the final winners will not be made
public till January.