Pictured above: Curt Rathbone with his father Chris Rathbone
from AlloyGator Ltd
Local business AlloyGator from Studley is one of the three local
businesses in our region who have made it through to the final
stages and have a chance of winning one of nine £50,000
prizes in the Barclays Take One Small Step competition. The money
goes towards making business dreams a reality, whether it's a
totally new business idea from a start-up with a dream, or an
existing business that wants to go to the next level.
AlloyGator is a worldwide patented alloy wheel protection system
designed to protect alloy wheels from kerb damage. The product
which is manufactured in the UK is made from Super Tough Nylon
through an injection moulded process and inserts between the wheel
and tyre for an easy and secure fit.
To win the prize money the finalists must now drum up public
votes for their idea by enlisting the support of family, friends,
colleagues, customers, and their community to get behind them to
help them win.
Owner of AlloyGator, Curt Rathbone said: "My father and I had
the original idea for the product and wanted to pursue the
opportunity to bring it to life, over the past 5 years we have
created a number of prototypes and the business developed from
there. The development of the product has been a real journey for
the whole family from the original idea back in 2007 to seeing our
product go through rigorous testing on the race track at MIRA a
world renowned automotive testing facility.
"To actually see a bank who is promoting new business and
innovation, especially in this economic climate, really resonated
with me and attracted me to apply."
"Part of the money would go on the tooling required for products
for two major car manufacturers, extend our staff and to develop
worldwide marketing opportunities."
In total there are 27 finalists from across nine regions
throughout Great Britain. To vote for your favourite, visit
www.takeonesmallstep.co.uk
Travers Clarke-Walker, Product and Marketing Director of
Barclays Business, said: "This competition is about giving a boost
to Great Britain's businesses, which really are the engine room of
our economy. It's about finding - and rewarding - great businesses
or those with a great business idea, and giving them a fantastic
opportunity to get their message out to millions of
people.
"Right now AlloyGator need the public's votes to win. We'll only
be able to award the life changing prize to the most popular idea
in each region, so now it's all over to the public."
To see more entries, vote for your favourite business idea and
for full terms and conditions go to www.takeonesmallstep.co.uk
The 'Take One Small Step' competition launched in March and
attracted over 5,000 registrations prior to the finalist
stage.