On Thursday 24th November 2016, the British Chamber of Commerce Business Awards took place in London. Bee Lighting represented Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce and against stiff competition, the Redditch based lighting technology company won the National Small Business of the Year Award, sponsored by NFU Mutual.
The Chamber Business Awards is one of the UK’s most contested and prestigious business award programmes. Each year, from Aberdeen to Plymouth, hundreds of organisations of all sizes and from all sectors compete for the coveted titles and the national recognition they bring. For BEE Lighting, the Awards Ceremony in London was the culmination of a long process starting in the early summer. In June, BEE won the “Small Business of the Year” Award for Herefordshire & Worcestershire during a memorable event at the Arena in Worcester and succeeded to win the Award for the West Midlands in the Regional finals later in September.
BEE Lighting are recognised industry experts in interior and exterior lighting products – mostly, but not solely, for the automotive industry. In recent years, their success has come from providing a unique mix of lighting technology and beautiful styling to deliver products customers love.
Paul Crees, Managing Director, said: “I’m completely blown away by this award, when they announced our name it took me a few moments to take it in”. He went on to state: “myself and Colin Fulford are very proud of the team’s achievements and it is so nice for them and us to be recognised in such a way”.
Mike Ashton, Chief Executive at Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce, said: “Congratulations to the team at Bee Lighting on winning the British Chambers of Commerce Award for “Small Business of the Year”. This achievement is well deserved and recognises the company’s growth and success in recent years”. He went on to say: “I am delighted that a Worcestershire company has been recognised on a national scale. Competition in the regional and national awards is extremely tough and Bee Lighting’s success is a tribute to the world class, innovative companies we have in the county.”
Judges complimented BEE’s record for employing locally – now 33 staff – and growing skills from within through recruiting talented young people and allowing them to flourish.
Colin Fulford, Manufacturing Director, describes the current situation and the company’s plans: “Investing in our staff and our engineering development tools, we are able to provide unique lighting solutions. Our all new automated modern production line will be commissioned shortly which will offer our customers exceptional lighting products from a world class manufacturing facility”.
“This National Award ends the business plan we put in place three years ago, it is also the beginning of the next phase of our growth and future success which I cannot wait to see”, stated Steen McCollin, Technical Sales Director.