Queen's Awards for Enterprise winners in the South West 2019

A diverse range of businesses from across the South West have been named as winners of the 2019 Queen's Awards for Enterprise.

The Queen's Awards for Enterprise is an awards programme for businesses who excel at international trade, innovation or sustainable development – a number of whom are Business West members. 

Let’s take a look at a handful of this year’s successful winners.

Bodywise UK (Natracare)

After 30 years of conscious, sustained growth as an innovator in a competitive market, Bristol-based, family-owned business, with just 20 staff, has successfully built markets for Natracare in over 80 countries around the world, earning the company a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in international trade.

Natracare’s product range includes certified organic cotton tampons; plastic free organic and natural pads for periods, post birth and stress incontinence; as well as certified organic cotton wipes and nursing pads. Most recently, Natracare hit the national headlines for creating the very first Water UK “Fine to Flush” approved Flushable wipes. Natracare designed these as a solution to reduce the amount of plastic pollution in sewers and waterways. The product was launched in March, and there is already considerable overseas interest for their new product.

Kohler Mira

Since 1921 Kohler Mira Showers has been leading the way in the UK showering market, offering high quality showering solutions to the individual and the contract market; including showers, fittings, enclosures, trays and wall panels.

The Cheltenham-based shower manufacturer was awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise this year for their innovative new Airboost system, which utlilises high-pressure air in the waterflow to give the effect of a power shower.

Maximise IT Solutions

Maximise IT Solutions received a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the innovation category. The award was given in recognition of their novel approach to automation has revolutionised parts of the financial services sector, enabling organisations to be more effective whilst also improving the customer experience for the public interacting with those organisations.

Maximise IT Solutions is a UK based multi-award-winning software services company, delivering innovative solutions designed to help customers maximise and exploit the value of technology. They deliver thousands of solutions to help our customers achieve competitive advantage by streamlining business processes.

Precision Dippings Manufacturing

It is the second time the company, which makes rubber products for the medical sector, has picked up a Queen’s Award, having won a prize for innovation in 2016.

In the last three years, Precision Dippings Manufacturing has increased exports by 105 per cent to countries including the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Netherlands, France and Sweden.

Precision Dippings is a UK-based family-run business in Yate, near Bristol experienced in rubber product design and latex products (as well as non-latex products) for industry sectors including medical, veterinary, automotive, fire safety and marine.