Eaton Smith Business of the Year awards 2023

On 30th June, over 150 people in business gathered for Eaton Smith’s Business of the Year Awards 2023 at the John Smith’s Stadium.

The 12 monthly winners from the 2022/23 series of the Business of the Month Awards were all in contention for the Award which celebrates the hard work, brilliance and innovation of businesses throughout Kirklees, Calderdale and Wakefield.

Deborah Melluish, Eaton Smith’s Senior Partner, spoke of the winners: “The Business of the Month awards recognise businesses from across Kirklees, Calderdale and Wakefield and this year’s winners are from all areas of that region.

Our range of monthly winners this year is once again a reflection of the diverse nature of businesses across the region. There is no question that they are all very different. The oldest was formed in 1970 and the newest only in 2021. However, innovation, training and development, wellbeing and diversity are common threads across all of our monthly winners this year as well as hard work and determination. Many of them have also become recognised nationally and some of them internationally in their fields.

It was a great pleasure to present Thomas Brown Engineering, Olympus Technologies, and John Fredericks Plastics the Third, Second, & First Place awards respectively. These three businesses shown incredible innovation, business growth, and contribution to the region. A huge congratulations to our winners and of course all of the other Business of the Month winners”.

The winners of the Business of the Year Awards 2023 were John Fredericks Plastics Limited. Established in 1970, John Fredericks Plastics have amassed more than 50 years of trading with a strong record of innovation and a loyal customer base. The company’s management team attribute the company’s longevity and enviable growth to its focus upon quality, delivery, and innovation.

John Fredericks are manufacturers of windows/doors/conservatories in PVC and aluminium. They supply their products to a network of window installation businesses throughout the UK. The products are used in domestic window refurbishment projects and smaller scale new build schemes. Most of their customers are well established installation companies with showrooms and business premises with several admin/sales and customer service staff on hand to offer advice and ensure the full satisfaction of their high-quality products.

Phil Farnell (HR Manager) and Mark Dicconson (MD) had this to say on their win: “We are delighted to have been voted Business of the Year. We are extremely proud of our business and it’s 53-year history of manufacturing in Yorkshire. As a company we strive to be the best in our industry and provide our customers with industry leading products and first-class customers’ service. This is only possible because of our fantastic and dedicated staff. This accolade is testament to a truly team effort and something we shall promote with pride.”

In second place were robotic integrator, Olympus Technologies Limited. Formed in 1987, Olympus Technologies is an innovative robotic integrator, specialising in delivering high quality bespoke projects across multiple business sectors, as well as creating ‘off the shelf’ robotic solutions for common business processes, including welding, palletising and laser marking.
Olympus Technologies continue to support local initiatives such as CKMA’s Make It In Manufacturing STEM events for Kirklees and Calderdale’s schools, where they hope to inspire the next generation of engineers.

Adam Swallow, director of Olympus Technologies, had this to say: “We are delighted to have been awarded the runner up award, especially when we were up against so many worthy monthly winners. It is an award for our whole team, not just those of us who were able to attend the awards event, and it is a measure of everything we achieve as a team. We would like to thank Eaton Smith for organising and hosting the awards, and all our collaborators and partners in our industry who help us to achieve the innovation and growth that has led us to this award.”

In third place were family run business Thomas Brown Engineering, Thomas Brown Engineering was established in 1982 by MD, Tom Brown. The engineering company, based in Huddersfield, mainly supply precision made components to equipment manufacturers who operate in the food & drink, medical, automotive, leisure and aerospace sectors.

Thomas Brown Engineering is proud to be based in Huddersfield, providing highly skilled jobs in the region, and contributing to the local economy. Innovation is one of their company values and they demonstrate this within the business by their ethos of encouraging ideas from all and embracing those which add value.

Deneale Green, company secretary at Thomas Brown Engineering, had this to say: “We are really pleased to receive third place in the Eaton Smith Business of the Year Awards. We have a fabulous team here at Thomas Brown Engineering and it is great that their hard work and commitment to continuous improvement has been recognised by the judges. We are really proud to celebrate our 40 years in business with this achievement. Thank you to the team at Eaton Smith Solicitors.”

The other nominees for the Business of the Year Awards 2023 included TH Electrical, First Choice Recruitment, Revival Vintage, Sarah Banks Coaching, Nurtur Student Living, Hollywood Agency, Simul Digital, UPVC Hardware Direct, and Bnode.

Established in 1995, the Business of the Month Awards are open to any business in the Kirklees, Calderdale or Wakefield area and the Awards are run in conjunction with the Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce and UK Trade & Investment.