Queen's Award for International Trade for Midlands manufacturing company

Published by

Nicky Godding

Midlands-based manufacturer, 3P innovation has received its second Queen’s Award for Enterprise. This latest award is in recognition for British excellence in International Trade, and follows on from their first Queen’s Award for Innovation last year.

High-tech engineering company, 3P innovation, works collaboratively with global pharma and medical device businesses to help develop their new products, devices and production processes. This exporting manufacturer is one of a very limited number of companies globally who can design and manufacture this sophisticated and heavily regulated automation.

Before the pandemic, there was little public interest into the manufacture of asthma inhalers, injection pens, vaccines, PPE or diagnostic tests - this is 3P’s expertise. Having helped develop equipment to make existing cancer treatments, 3P’s engineers are also active in the exciting ‘cell & gene’ sector, which is likely to lead to cures for cancer in the very near future.

These Queen’s Awards build upon last year’s success for 3P: shortly after launching a national visor initiative, which saw the manufacturer donate more than 40,000 visors to frontline staff, the company was awarded with a UK Business Hero stamp by the British Chambers of Commerce. The engineering firm ended the year on a high note after announcing their transition to employee ownership.

Having been Managing Director of John Lewis, the West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street, is known to be passionate about employee-owned businesses, and has followed 3P’s journey with interest. Andy said: ‘As Mayor of the West Midlands, I am delighted to see that 3P innovation has been recognised with the Queen's Award for Export Achievement. It’s a great accolade and talks to the fantastic success of this employee-owned business. Congratulations to all involved’.

The 2021 Queen’s Award recognises steady growth in international exports. The international business strategy implemented by this SME has led to the penetration of new markets and a more diversified portfolio of clients, with 40% of new customers between 2017 and 2020 being international.

Commenting on this success, 3P’s founder and Managing Director, Tom Bailey said: ‘In a year that has been challenging for everyone, the team at 3P innovation have worked harder than ever to achieve remarkable international growth. This has provided us with further security and stability in an ever-changing market affected by Covid, and it’s great to see that UK innovation and international growth within the manufacturing sector are being recognised by the Queen’s Awards’.

https://www.businessinnovationmag.co.uk/bdo-advises-3p-innovation-on-employee-ownership-transaction/

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.