Best in the business!

SAFETYFLEX has been declared the Company of the Year at the 2019 Coventry Telegraph Business Awards.

This year’s event at the Ricoh Arena last night proved to be one of the biggest and best yet and was extra special as it marked the 25th anniversary of the awards.

Now in conjunction with Telegraph publisher Reach plc’s dedicated business website BusinessLive, the awards celebrate the success stories of the region.

The 2019 awards also had a very special host in the shape of broadcaster Jeremy Vine, who cut his journalistic teeth as a young reporter on the Coventry Telegraph.

There were 11 main award categories in total, with Safetyflex chosen from 12 award winners to take the overall Company of the Year Award.

Safetyflex came about when Rob and Marcus Gerrard created Truckstopper,

The Coventry Telegraph Business Awards 2019, and right, host Jeremy Vine an anti-terrorist bollard partnering with distribution partners. which can halt an 18-tonne vehicle In the last year the approach travelling at 50mph. has borne fruit with a string of major

Having worked on domestic projects contract wins. – including the heart of Coventry Safetyflex products have recently and nuclear sites around the UK – been fitted to locations in the US and Safetyflex explored the overseas Australia and distributors in Germany, market. South America, Belgium and

It sought advice from the Department Sweden have been recruited. for International Trade, drawing Graeme Brown, editor of the Coventry up a strategy centred around Telegraph, said: “The businesses of Coventry and Warwickshire aren’t just keeping the lights on, they are innovating, striving for more, creating new jobs and new products.

“Coventry and Warwickshire has always made things that are the envy of the world but tonight shows that we are punching above our weight in more than manufacturing – our services sector is a force to be reckoned with too.”

■ Small business of the Year - Widgit Software

■ New Business of the Year Aurelius Print Media

■ Professor Lord Kumar Battacharyya Award for Manufacturer of the Year Katronic Technologies

■ Apprentice of the Year Alexis Considine, The Wigley Group

■ Professional Services Firm of the Year Armstrongs Chartered Accountants

■ Property and Construction Business of the Year Cornerstone Partnership

■ Retail Business of the Year - Joco

■ Third Sector Organisation of the Year - Zoe’s Place

■ CSR Project of the Year Willmott Dixon

■ Green Business of the Year - HydroVeg Kits and Reyousable (joint winners)

■ International Trade and Export Award - Safetyflex.