Fenland Business Awards networking event proves a real winner with businesses

A fantastic platform to showcase your business and to celebrate your achievements - that was the verdict on the Fenland Business Awards by last year’s big winners Stainless Metalcraft.

Martin Lawrence, a director with the Chatteris firm, was a keynote speaker at the awards’ networking event on Tuesday.

He explained the firm, which has a global reputation for innovation, was proud of its success in last year’s awards. Metalcraft, which is sponsoring the Apprentice of the Year Award this year, were winners of Employer of the Year, Medium Business of the Year and Business of the Year.

Martin told an audience of some of the area’s top business people, who attended the event at the Boathouse in Wisbech, that the awards were a great way to show off what businesses have achieved in the year.

He said Metalcraft did not have local clients so the awards were not essential to promoting the company locally but for many firms they are an ideal way of showcasing what they offer.

He said: “We are extremely proud to be winners. The awards gave us a chance to celebrate a fantastic year for our business. They were an opportunity for us to show pride in what we have achieved.”

Martin spoke about Metalcraft’s proud history of training and said the firm were taking on a new band of apprentices, in what will be the company’s 100th year of training.

And he told the audience the firm were delighted to be sponsoring the Apprentice of the Year Award to mark such a major milestone.

The networking event was a golden opportunity for firms who want to enter the awards to find out more about what is involved and what is needed to be winner.

It also gave the representatives an opportunity to network and to find out more about other businesses in the area.

Gerald Carey, events and marketing manager for Archant Herts, Cambs and Kent, had earlier opened the event by welcoming everyone and gave a brief history of the Fenland Business Awards, which are now in their eighth year.

He paid tribute to the hard-work of the judging panel, who visit each of the entrants to find out more about each company or business person, before choosing the finalists and ultimately the winners in each category.

Gerald also apologised for the non-appearance of the event’s other main speaker Michelle Crosse, who was unable to attend due to a ‘family crisis’.

However, Gerald said Michelle, a Signpost 2 Grow Navigator with Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Local Enterprise Partnership, had offered to personally contact any businesses interested in learning more about funding opportunities to help them to grow.

There are 12 awards in total up for grabs - 10 of which can be entered - the remaining two are Business of the Year and Judges Award and these are chosen by the judges from the winners of the categories.

The deadline for entries is Wednesday July 6, to enter visit: www.fenlandbusinessawards.co.uk

For more details on the various categories and the criteria to enter see below.