Norwich egg-broker wins Queen’s Award

The firm is the only company in Norfolk to win one of this year's 156 Queen's Awards for Enterprise - announced today.

Cambridgshire companies won the most awards in the region, see below.

Norwich-based HiBreeds International, which won the same award in 2003, was recognised for its continuing success in the trade of hatching eggs from the UK and continental Europe.

In three years HiBreeds has seen turnover from direct sales of overseas goods almost double to �5.6m.

Laura Chandler, director of HiBreeds and daughter of its founder, Nick Chandler, said: 'We're delighted to receive a second Queen's Award after working hard to adapt to the changes in the economy and demand for food over recent years.

'The food industry has become a global operation. If the UK farming industry is to flourish, then we have to sell our excellence to the rest of the world. At HiBreeds our philosophy is Export and Thrive, and we will continue to do this.'

Hi Breeds, based in Old Catton, was founded in 1998 with the aim of addressing surplus production problems in the UK poultry industry.

The company exports hatching eggs mostly to Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, which is the second largest consumer per capita of chicken meat after the USA. The company also exports across Europe and Russia.

Since 1998, it has exported more than 250 million eggs worth �50m, providing UK farmers with the benefits of secure long-term purchase agreements.

It also manages currency exchange, payment risk and provides transport and packaging for a very delicate cargo, forging close links with transport and logistics companies and giving overseas customers guaranteed quality and results.

A total of 156 Queen's Awards have been announced this year. Overall, 102 companies have won awards for international trade, 44 for innovation and 10 for sustainable development.

Some 20pc of companies who applied for the awards won, double last year's amount. In addition, 11 individuals received

The Queen's Award for Enterprise Promotion (QAEP) for their efforts to encourage UK entrepreneurship.

Winning firms cover a vast range of business sectors. These include: architecture and design, building and construction, motoring and transport, electronics and technology, manufacturing and engineering, law and finance, tourism and leisure, medical and pharmaceuticals, food and drink, oil and gas, media and marketing, metals, plastics and packaging, safety and surveillance, printing, recycling, logistics, utilities and more.

They range from enterprising small businesses with as few as two employees to household names such as Yeo Valley Farms (Production) , BBC Research and Development and The National Archive.

There is one multiple Award winner this year, in the International Trade and Innovation categories: RealVNC, for its remote access software for computers and mobile devices.

Other winners from the region are:

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Haskoning UK, Peterborough - Haskoning UK Limited, better known as Royal Haskoning, provides engineering and consultancy services to clients throughout the world in niche markets including maritime, coastal and rivers, infrastructure, transport and environmental projects. Its longest established client relationship dates back over 120 years. It wins the Award for the first time for its outstanding achievement in nearly doubling its overseas earnings over three years to an aggregate of over �72m over three years. An effective marketing strategy is based on a network of offices, local partners and other contacts. Its services are delivered in over 60 countries world wide.

International Export Supplie, Needham Market, Suffolk - International Export Supplies trades as Interex Automotive and Interex Motorsport. Interex Automotive exports parts for cars, trucks and public service vehicles, specialising in supplying goods manufactured in or sourced from the UK. Interesting exceptions include importing Chinese bus components for export to the Caribbean - this is a more efficient method for the bus companies rather than importing directly from China themselves. Working closely with the UK's World-leading Motorsport manufacturers, Interex Motorsport exports specialised components for use in all forms of motor racing to overseas Race Teams, Constructors and Performance Garages. Interex has been trading since 1997. Export earnings have increased by 80% over the past 3 years. Interex's main established markets are in the Far East, the Caribbean and Europe, developing markets include Russia and South Korea.

Plant Parts, Hadleigh, Suffolk - Plant Parts Ltd has been trading since 1995. It supplies spare parts for construction machinery and also reconditions hydrostatic gearboxes used on tracked earthmoving machinery. Its specialist workshops also engineer customised prime-moving gearboxes for other mobile applications including crop harvesting equipment. This company's total export earnings over the last 3 years reached nearly �5 million from markets in over 100 countries. The top 5 markets are Europe, North America, sub-Saharan Africa and Australasia. The company has invested heavily in product and customer support IT systems enabling it to provide an industry leading service to customers. The company's success is based on a high degree of repeat business, unrivalled product knowledge, free technical support and a right-first-time approach to business.

Prism Media Product, Stretham, Cambridgeshire - Prism Media Products Limited develops and manufactures professional audio equipment and software branded 'Prism Sound' & 'SADiE'. Manufacturing and R&D are UK-based. Customers include sound recording professionals, audio engineers in industry, educational establishments, law enforcement, government departments and consumers of high-quality home entertainment products. It started trading in 1993 and wins this Award after more than doubling overseas sales during six years of sustained sales growth, with 66% of sales going abroad. This outstanding performance was supported by 120 foreign dealers and a sister company in the USA headquartered in New Jersey with a recently opened office in California. Prism has created 10 new UK jobs during the Award period.

RealVNC, Cambridge - RealVNC Ltd provides remote access software for computers and mobile devices. The technique is used in a vast range of applications including IT helpdesk support, IT maintenance, teleworking and training, with many licences in use around the world. The company wins the award for the first time for its outstanding achievement in growing its overseas sales, with exports comprising 90% of turnover. Over 175 countries are served with North America the current main market. A ground-breaking partnership with Intel to embed VNC technology into the latest chipsets has spear-headed new international revenue streams. The company also recently announced a major collaboration with Google. An acclaimed VNC app enjoys 5 star ratings in the Apple App Store. The company has recently entered into the automotive market. It also wins the Award for Innovation

Toby Churchill, Over, Cambridgeshire - Toby Churchill Ltd designs and manufactures text and speech communications aids for people with limited or no ability to speak. It is the world's largest provider of text to speech communication aids for those unable to speak because of illness or accident. It started trading in 1973, and over 100,000 people have since been given speech through the company's products. The company is winning the Award because it has trebled its overseas earnings in three years to over �2 million p.a., and now exports over 60% of its products. Its products cover 13 languages and are sold to 23 countries in Europe, the Americas and the Middle East; Arabic was added to the company's portfolio in 2010. An outstanding achievement.

INNOVATION

ARM Holdings, Cambridge - ARM Holdings plc wins an Innovation Award for the development of semiconductor intellectual property in the form of designs for smart, low-energy computer chips. The chips, manufactured by licensees, are at the heart of many consumer products including most mobile phones, digital cameras, printers and computer storage discs. Nearly all motor cars contain at least one chip designed by the company. Through continuous innovation in the design of very high performance chips with low power consumption and developing new markets, the company has grown its market share to over 95% world-wide during a global recession.

Cambridge Consultants, Cambridge - An Innovation Award is made to Cambridge Consultants Limited for developing the Prism 200, a hand-held, through-wall radar for counter-terrorism. Used by police and Special Forces, it provides quick and covert intelligence on the movement and location of people in a room or building - without the need for invasive sensors. Prism 200 has been designed for situations where accurate tracking of multiple people, such as terrorists and their hostages, is essential for mission success.

i2 Ltd, Fulbourn, Cambridgeshire - An Innovation Award is made to i2 Ltd for the continuous development of software to support law enforcement, defence, national security and private sector operations. The company's Intelligence-Led Operations Platform - that encompasses both its Analysis and COPLINK product lines - incorporates advanced algorithms and technology to analyse quickly large data sets from disparate sources and provide high-quality intelligence. Customers use the technology to assess and to make non-obvious connections between complex networks of organizations, entities and/or individuals. The products have been commercially successful, enabling the company to retain a large customer base, including 25 of the 28 member NATO countries, 80 percent of national security agencies worldwide and the majority of police forces in the UK.

Jagex, Cambridge - An Award is made to Jagex Ltd for the continuous development of RuneScape, an on-line, multi-player game. With over 115 million registered players and over 15 thousand hours of free game-content available, it has set the standard for such games. The proprietary software facilitates instant access from almost any internet-enabled device, without needing downloads or special software. Up to 2000 players can participate in a single game, yet each player can interrupt participation and resume from where he or she left-off. Through the innovation the company has been commercially successful.

RealVNC, Cambridge - An Innovation Award is made to RealVNC for developing VNC remote access software. VNC is used by IT professionals and individuals in computers around the world for remote IT support, IT maintenance, training and teleworking. In an industry first, they partnered with Intel to embed VNC technology directly into the latest chipsets, providing built-in remote access to help solve complex issues such as OS failures and boot problems without needing to be desk-side. An application for iOS and Android launched through the Apple App Store and Android Market provides convenient remote access from a new class of devices, whilst a recent entry into the automotive market has led to the adoption of VNC as a standard for integrating mobile devices with in-car infotainment systems. It also wins the Award for International Trade.

Sentec, Cambridge - Sentec wins an Innovation Award for the continuous development and successful commercialisation of water metering equipment. Electromagnetic flow has long been held as the gold standard of water metering because of its accuracy and longevity (no moving parts to wear). Sterling� technology enables the manufacture of very low power, cost-effective water meters, applying electromagnetic flow to residential water metering. Sterling is an excellent basis for all 'smart' water meters. These record and communicate information much more frequently than traditional meters. The adoption of smart water meters wherever water is scarce will help to control demand, by altering consumer behaviour and reducing waste. Sterling enables improved performance at low cost and Sentec has successfully commercialised this technology, via licensing and joint venture, to address many markets in different territories.

•Winners of The Queen's Awards can expect a company visit by a Royal representative during the year to present a crystal bowl and an invitation to attend a special reception at Buckingham Palace in July.

They can also use The Queen's Award Emblem in advertising, marketing and on packaging for a period of five years as a symbol of their quality and success.

To find out more about next year's awards visit www.businesslink.gov.uk/queensawards2012