BEST NEW MANUFACTURING BUSINESS
SPONSORED BY JACKSONS LAW FIRM
AWARDS 2022
FINALIST
SMS Technology
Congratulations – IMS Energy won the Best New Manufacturing Business award . The firm ’ s financial director Patricia Thomas was presented with the trophy by Tony Wentworth , managing partner of category sponsors Jacksons Law Firm .
WINNER
IMS Energy Ltd
With a global blue-chip customer base , Middlesbrough-based IMS Energy Ltd provides a variety of engineering , fabrication and project management services .
And according to financial director Patricia Thomas , clinching the Best New Manufacturing Business category at the second Best New Tees Business Awards is testament to the efforts of its workforce .
She said : “ It ’ s been a wonderful journey . It ’ s such a young company that ’ s grown so fast , so it just shows how hard everyone has worked .
“ We ’ re very lucky because the Teesside area has very good workers who are passionate about what they do – and it is basically about the team , it ’ s a fabulous team .
“ It ’ s also about hard work , being imaginative and collaborating . We collaborate with a lot of other businesses – we ’ re going into the HVAC market and we ’ re also going abroad and looking at overseas markets .
“ We ’ ve just come back from the UAE and made an awful lot of contacts there . The drive is not just the UK , it ’ s also to hit the foreign markets and start new businesses and new collaborations – that ’ s the way forward .”
She also praised the supportive business environment in the Tees Valley , saying : “ The Tees Valley ( Combined Authority ) is fantastic because it offers so many opportunities , so they help you meet people as well . They give you what support they can give and help you travel abroad so you can go to foreign countries and do all those exports .
“ The Tees Valley supports businesses and it ’ s that type of thing that helps you grow .”
SPONSOR MESSAGE
Tony Wentworth , managing partner of Jacksons Law Firm , said : “ Jacksons was delighted to sponsor the Best New Manufacturing Business category at this year ’ s Best New Tees Business Awards for the second consecutive year . It is very encouraging to see the innovation and progression in manufacturing in our part of the North-East – however , that makes it more difficult to choose a winner . IMS Energy deserve to win the accolade in recognition of their achievements during particularly challenging times in a very competitive market .”
Founded in 2021 , SMS Technology Ltd – which joined with Fitfactory Technology after connecting at the 2021 EMCON show – brings a specialist turnkey shop-floor management system to the market , with software developed over nine months to enable multiple sectors to use it .
Trialled in the automotive , manufacturing , aerospace and maritime sectors , the system is proven to fully remove the need for paper documentation on the shop floor and key areas of a business while offering real-time data . SMS Technology has already provided local jobs , with six more due by April 2023 , and has successfully gained several ISO Standards accreditations .
FINALIST
Universal Windows
Having started out as uPVC window and door installers , frustration with the service provided by manufacturers saw Universal branch out into making high quality products themselves – and they haven ’ t looked back .
From premises off Portrack Lane , Stockton , Universal has grown into a successful , established business with a growing following of loyal customers – and not even beginning on the eve of the first Covid-19 lockdown , or co-founder John ’ s cancer treatment , has held it back .
The company has grown from two people in a van to a team including manufacturing fabricators , trainee to supervisor positions on the shop floor , outside installers and an office admin team .
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