SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Jacksons Law Firm
THE FINALISTS
C & A owner Laura Flood ( left ) with employee Jess Doyle and Peter Robinson from category sponsors Jacksons Law Firm .
AWARD WIN ‘ AMAZING ’ SAYS EMBROIDERY QUEEN
The boss of an embroidery firm on Aycliffe Business Park says she has plans to carry on expanding after picking up one of the accolades at the 2022 Make Your Mark Awards .
C & A Embroidery and Print won the Small Business category , sponsored by Jacksons Law Firm , at the glitzy awards ceremony held at Redworth Hall Hotel .
The firm is owned and run by 28-yearold Laura Flood and offers an in-house embroidery and printing service .
C & A supplies a range of clothing such as workwear , corporate and hospitality , sports and leisure wear , and works with a range of customers on Aycliffe Business Park , including Collins Seafood , Beaumont Landscapes , Cobots Online , Durham Precision Engineering and Finley Structures .
They also provides a range of leisurewear for Darlington Football Club and the entire range of clothing for Sedgefield Rugby Club .
C & A moved into its first unit on Aycliffe Business Park in November 2018 , took on its first employee in October 2019 , moved into larger premises last August and now employs a team of four .
They beat off fierce competition from Bespoke Electrical and Logico to win the Small Business award .
Laura said : “ I didn ’ t expect to win the award so it ’ s amazing to get this . We were very shocked .
“ The last two years during Covid , we ’ ve expanded massively . We had to deal with a lot of companies that were still working during Covid – things like healthcare and construction companies , who were also going through the pandemic – so we were still busy .
“ The plan now is to carry on expanding . We ’ re trying to get into more schools , construction companies – the plan is to expand and see where we go from there .”
Jacksons Law Firm were sponsors of the Small Business of the Year category at the Make Your Mark Awards .
Peter Robinson , the firm ’ s partner and head of corporate and commercial , said : “ It was a genuine pleasure to support the Make Your Mark Awards and to present the Small Business award to C & A Embroidery & Print .
“ The finalists in the Small Business category are all different from each other , they are smashing businesses , and are winners in their own right .
“ Having run my own business in a previous life , I fully understand the challenges that can arise .
“ These days , I thoroughly enjoy rolling up my sleeves and working closely with small businesses , watching them grow and develop and being part of the journey with them .
“ It is really important to celebrate the success of local businesses and broadcast the positive messages , particularly after the two years of misery we have all suffered .”
Logico Logico has been based on Aycliffe Business Park since its launch in 2019 and has recently moved into larger premises to facilitate its growing training department .
The firm provides transport compliance solutions and training and is the only North-East company to have DVSA earned recognition auditor status .
Logico is ISO 9001:2015 accredited and has had recent success in being named as Logistics Consultants of the Year in the North England Prestige Awards .
Logico is a proud supporter of the local community and now employs seven people .
It recently signed a partnership agreement with MinTrain to deliver industry-leading Driver CPC training , and is looking forward to continued growth in the coming months .
Bespoke Electrical Bespoke Electrical is an independent , hazardous area specialist electrical company offering traditional on-site and off-site solutions .
The firm offers a wide range of ECI & M electrical , control instrumentation and mechanical services , for all installation sizes across all industry sectors .
Now in its fifth year of trading , bosses have set the target of sustainably growing by doubling turnover each year .
Over recent years Bespoke has designed a selection of modular “ plug and play ” electrical systems to be used in the offshore wind industry .
And it is currently looking at options to develop and produce a range of modular wiring systems and set up a workshop , showroom and teaching room in Newton Aycliffe to manufacture and showcase them .
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