Shropshire Star Excellence In Business Awards: Glitz and glamour at annual ceremony

Around 300 people will gather in the breathtaking setting of RAF Cosford next Thursday, April 21, for the third annual EIBA ceremony.

It will see prizes dished out to the very best businesses our local area has to offer.

Shropshire Star editor Martin Wright said: "The Excellence In Business Awards ceremony has become a firmly-established part of the Shropshire and Mid Wales business calendar.

"The atmosphere at last year's event demonstrated to us that there is a real appetite for celebrating all the achievements of our local businesses.

"The country's economic landscape carries its own set of challenges, and the businesses that are coming together at Cosford next week do so in a climate of uncertainty for the nation's economy.

"Despite that, the hunt for excellence from among our business community was not a difficult one – businesses came forward in their dozens to tell us about their successes, their strategies, and their growth.

"If anything, it has been the judging that has been the most challenging aspect, as the quality of the entrants in many of the categories was absolutely first class across the board."

Thanks to the event's generous sponsors, there will be plenty of opportunities for companies to celebrate.

Nine awards will be handed out, covering customer service, the best place to work, innovation and growth, and learning and skills, and in total 32 finalists will go toe-to-toe in their efforts to walk away from the ceremony with a gong under their arm.

A new category has been introduced for the best farming business, in recognition of the important role played by agriculture in the Shropshire economy.

And as well as the blue riband Business of the Year Award, handed out to the very best business in the area, there are new awards for the best small to medium sized business, and the best micro-business – a hotly contested category in a county where 90 per cent of businesses employ 10 people or fewer.

Sponsors include Enterprise Flex-E-Rent, Telford College of Arts and Technology, Rybrook BMW Shrewsbury, Proto Labs, Greenhous Group, University of Wolverhampton, Star Employment Services, Higgs & Sons, and the Shropshire Star itself.

The drinks reception is sponsored by Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, and estate agents DB Roberts has sponsored the wine on the tables.

The event itself is managed and run by Shrewsbury-based company Yarrington. BBC Radio Shropshire's Eric Smith will be on hand to present the awards once again, after charming the audience at last year's ceremony.

And visitors to the event will be asked to help raise money for this year's chosen charity – Hope House Children's Hospice – whose area fundraiser Lynsey Kilvert will give a talk on the work of the Shropshire-based charity.

Mr Wright added: "We hope that businesses can dig deep and do their bit for this wonderful charity, which provides so much support to so many families in Shropshire and Mid Wales.

"It's vitally important to us that we can use this opportunity to encourage people to give something back to the local community.

"We are hugely grateful to all our sponsors for helping make the Excellence In Business Awards happen.

"It's going to be another really exciting evening.

"I'm looking forward to seeing local businesses come together and send out a message that our local economy is not just ticking along – it is thriving."

The ceremony takes place next Thursday, April 21, and people are asked to arrive for 7.15.