COMPANIES from Northern Ireland are among 232 from across the UK to be recognised with a prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise.
They include Dungannon-based Edge Innovate and also luggage specialist SendMyBag in Bangor, who each join an elite group of companies to become a second-time winner of the awards, made for outstanding achievements in the fields of innovation, international trade and sustainable development.
Family-owned Edge Innovate, set up in 2008 and employing 170 people, adds to the Queen’s Award it previously collected in 2019.
It develops, manufactures, markets and exports sophisticated technologies for shredding, stacking, screening and sorting of primary and secondary raw materials in production processes and recycling.
The company currently exports 95 per cent of its products outside the UK from its 187,000 sq ft manufacturing plant, with its main markets including North America, Australia, and the Middle East.
Managing director Darragh Cullen said: “This award is recognition of the hard work and resilience of all our stakeholders over the last three years.
“It's been an extremely challenging period, but we have worked together as a tight knit unit, focusing on delivering for customers.”
Edge currently exports both its material handling and recycling equipment to 70 countries via a 50-strong distributor network, with exports rising from 85 per cent in 2016 to 94.4 per cent in 2020.
It has also successfully completed the construction of a new 37,500 sq ft facility to house a new paint shop and stores facilities, which has resulted in a 30 per cent increase in production capacity.
Others to win the Queen's Award are personal effects shipping and luggage specialist SendMyBag, financial service firm FinTrU and Belfast-based scientific consultancy firm G&L.
Established in 2010 and a previous winner in 2018, SendMyBag is a personal effects shipping service, transporting everything from holiday luggage to relocation shipments and its domestic and international door to door services are now used by customers in 150 countries.
Overseas earnings have grown over three years by 101 per cent and now account for 71 per cent of total business. It operates across Europe, USA, Australia and Asia and currently has 20 international markets in development including Mexico, Hong Kong and Qatar.
Established in 2013 and headquartered in Belfast, FinTrU works in partnership with investment banks around the globe to design technology enabled solutions to help them meet regulatory obligations.
Overseas earnings over six years have increased by over 4,000 per cent and now account for quarter of all sales.
FinTrU, which partners with global clients in New York, Toronto, Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo and Madrid, has established additional offices in Derry, New York, Maastricht and Dublin, working exclusively with investment banks who have a global presence enabling them to span geographic areas in response to its clients’ needs.
Employing 147 people, G&L Scientific - which recently relocated to the 10th floor of the Lanyon Tower building in Belfast - was set up in 2016 and provides expert scientific regulatory affairs and quality assurance consultancy services and support to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and advanced therapy medicinal product (ATMP) companies around the world.
Chief executive Stephen Loughrey said: “We're proud to be at the cutting edge of global healthcare. Our consistent success is the result of the collective dedication, attention to detail and industry-leading expertise inherent in everyone who works with us.
“Our colleagues are the key to everything we accomplish and achieve. This award is a direct result of that collective passion and dedication and my thanks are extended to everyone who has helped with this incredible achievement.”
