Hundreds of people celebrated the very best of Shropshire business at the eighth annual awards ceremony for the county’s top companies.

The Olympic-themed Shropshire Business Awards, organised by Shropshire Chamber of Commerce and supported by the Shropshire Star, was held at Telford’s International Centre.

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It was hailed a huge success, with the party continuing into the early hours after a gala dinner hosted by former athlete turned television presenter Roger Black MBE.

Dodd Group, the Telford-based engineering contractor, was the overall winner of the night, crowned Shropshire Company of the Year.

Other winners included Protomold of Hortonwood, for the second year running, ProAuto Training of Atcham, Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, EPS and Border Holdings of Craven Arms, Barbers Auctions of Market Drayton and Six Media of Telford.

And in the hotly contested Best Sport and Leisure Company category, Shrewsbury Town triumphed over its fellow finalist Telford United.

The 650-strong members of the audience were also invited to become Dragon’s Den-style judges for the evening by voting for the winner of the Star Idea competition.

Three local inventors presented their plans in the hope of winning a prize package worth £5,000 in cash plus business support to turn their dream into reality.

The winner on the night was Mike Drage, of Longden Coleham, Shrewsbury, who won over the audience with his collapsible, lightweight brick with a honeycomb centre which folds down to take up just 10 per cent of the space of a normal brick, making it ideal for military uses or for flying out to disaster zones.

Guest speaker Roger Black addressed the audience with an inspiring and motivational speech.

Awards master of ceremonies Carl Jones, assistant editor of the Shropshire Star, told guests: “For one night only, let’s forget the credit crunch, let’s shrug aside the problems on the high street and let’s pretend that you don’t need half a week’s wages to fill your car up with fuel.

“Because this is a night for winners, a night to celebrate companies who are surviving the current economic downturn in headline-grabbing style.

“Shropshire has once again proved that it’s no rural backwater when it comes to business – it’s home to some of the UK’s most dynamic and determined companies, who are receiving national recognition for their achievements.”

And the winners are . . .

Company of the Year – Dodd Group
Innovation – ProAuto Training
Technology – Protomold
Export – Border Holdings
Customer Service – Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust
Best New Business – Six Media
Rural Business – Barbers Auctions LLP
Sport & Leisure – Shrewsbury Town FC
Enterprise (Chamber members) – EPS
Star Idea – Mike Drage

By Shropshire Star Business Editor Amy Bould