Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Delight after landing a second top award
Staff at an award-winning business are celebrating after collecting a second major accolade this year.
The Optical Factory and Hearing Clinic was named best small business at the Great British entrepreneuring awards – continuing their success in winning the title of “Lanarkshire’s best business” in May.
Now directors Sean Walls and Carla Di Mambro are looking ahead to another exciting year, including expanding their provision of digital hearing aids plus helping schoolchildren and adults in Africa.
Mr Walls said of their latest award: “Both Carla and I were delighted to be a finalist in such an amazing category that covered both Scotland and Ireland – and to actually win it was amazing.”
The president of the newlyformed Lanarkshire Chamber of Commerce, he added: “Lanarkshire is a great place to do business.
“I have an opportunity [ in my role] to speak with many Lanarkshire business owners, and the collective voice is one of positivity for the area.”
The Optical Factory and Hearing Clinic was established in 2011, to offer “outstanding eye test services and low-cost spectacles and sunglasses”; and now has branches in Wishaw, Hamilton and East Kilbride.
Mr Walls added: “Our three practices cover both North and South Lanarkshire; most of our 18,000 patients come from the area and they appreciate that we are a local business that employs local people.
“The Optical Factory and Hearing Clinic will continue to grow next year, with low- cost hearing aids one of our biggest growth areas – our aim is to offer the latest digital hearing aids to people who may have thought they were too expensive for them.
“We’re also really looking forward to continuing with our international projects; we’ve helped eye- test around 40,000 school children and adults in Kenya and Malawi over the past eight years.
“Now we’re looking forward to adding a hearing screening program, along with hearing aids, to children in Kenya.”