A growing shipping container company has triumphed as the Company of the Year at the grand final of the North East Business Awards.
The win tops a record-breaking year for Cleveland Containers, which supplies containers as well as modification services from its Stockton base, and has seen turnover rise to more than £60m this year. The family firm won the final trophy of the night at the black tie event at Hardwick Hall, where hundreds of the firm’s peers had gathered for the biggest awards night in the region’s business calendar.
Launched in 2011, the company saw first-year turnover of £1.1m but has since grown to deliver hundreds of containers every week, operating out of more than 15 depots across the UK. The firm had earlier this year been named Teesside Company of the Year, and the following day announced it had secured a minority investment from private equity firm LDC to help steer the firm through the next stage of its growth.
Read more: Cleveland Containers secures investment from LDC to drive growth plans
Cleveland Containers pipped Newcastle Building Society – winner of the Northumberland & Tyneside Company of the Year – and eQuality Solutions – winner of the Durham, Sunderland & South Tyneside Company of the Year – to the main prize.
Andrew Thompson, chief operating officer, said: “I’m just so delighted for the whole team - old and new. Some people have been with the company since its inception.
“I’m also delighted for Jane and Jonathan, the owners of Cleveland Containers who’ve just inspired everyone to achieve such greatness. We’re up to 70 people now having grown quite considerably over the last 12 months. We’re looking to probably double that in the next 12-18 months.”
The ceremony, hosted by presenter Kirsten O’Brien, was opened by Journal editor Graeme Whitfield, who paid tribute to the region’s resilience since it was last gathered for the business awards.
He said: “This time last year I praised the companies in the running for the awards for having made it through the pandemic. I think I thought that some form of normality would return, and I was wrong.
“Since we met for our heats earlier in the year, we have had a new Prime Minister, a new monarch, an energy crisis and a sterling crisis.
“The fact that businesses of any sort have survived, it seems to me, is a small miracle – the fact that companies like yours are doing as well as you are is testament to the resilience and innovative spirit that we have in spades in this region.
“And despite it all – despite all the challenges thrown up in the way of businesses over the last few years – the North East continues to do brilliant things.
“The Tyne and the Tees are leading the way in the net zero revolution, while the UK’s first two battery gigafactories will be at Sunderland and Blyth.
“There are cranes on the skylines of Newcastle, Sunderland, Durham and Middlesbrough, and Greggs has become so cool that young people are queueing up to wear bucket hats with the company’s logo on it.
“Newcastle is not going to host Eurovision and Durham wasn’t named City of Culture but we have brought the Lindisfarne Gospels home – temporarily – and our tourism economy is bouncing back from the worst impacts of Covid.”
Other winners on the night included Made for Trade, PD Ports, Just For Women Centre CIC and Rowen Homes.
Full list of winners
Apprenticeships, Training & Skills Award, sponsored by CIPD North East of England - Intelect
High Growth & Ambition Award, sponsored by University of Sunderland - GAP Group (North East) Ltd
Services Award, sponsored by BusinessLive - Great North Air Ambulance Service
Newcomer of the Year, sponsored by Acute Business Advisory - Rowen Homes
Heart of the Community Award, sponsored by Sage - Just For Women Centre CIC
Innovation & Technology Award, sponsored by Business Durham - PD Ports
Manufacturing Award, sponsored by Nifco UK - Made For Trade
Small Business Award, sponsored by Newcastle City Council - McGovern & Co Ltd
Company of the Year, sponsored by Newcastle University - Cleveland Containers
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