Tag Archives: Entrepreneurial Exchange

Tamlin Roberts on Making the Web Work for You

Posted on by
Reply

The Internet is no longer a luxury enjoyed only by those companies that can afford to pay for a web site. It’s a basic business essential, fundamental to sales, marketing, branding, communication, recruitment … the list goes on.

From basic brochure-ware websites to multi-lingual e-commerce websites, and LinkedIn to Twitter, how you use the Internet is as important to your business as cash flow. Get it right and it can make your business a huge success; get it wrong and you could be throwing money down the drain.

Tamlin Roberts has spent the past 12 years growing Mercurytide, an online application and web development company. Working with companies such as GSPC, Montpeliers Edinburgh, Flow Hospitality Training, Faithful + Gould, Edinburgh Council, Redeem, O2, Prudential, Scottish Widows and Grant Management, and of course, the Entrepreneurial Exchange, his experience of how to make the web work for business is unrivalled.

He believes there are four key elements, and businesses should ideally use all four to maximise visibility of of a website.

• Technical connections – Tamlin says there are as many as 250 issues relating to a site’s architecture and construction that determine how successful it will be in meeting the search engines’ increasingly sophisticated criteria
• Great content – original material that is regularly updated. Blogs are good, as long as they are hosted on your domain and shared with lots of people
• Social media links – get those connections working with people and get them to ‘like’ your site
• Linked network – it’s vital to build ‘virtuous circle’ links with high-volume sites accessed routinely by the greatest number of people. For example, the BBC is the UK’s No1 site but to maintain a link with its site would require refreshing the link every day.

Chair for the evening, Alistair Balfour of The Company Creators, said:”Tamlin also included great tips, such as using a service called PR Web to push out press releases for £80 a time, and various techniques to gather information about visitors to your site.

“For example, try writing a short e-book about your business, products, technology or markets, then offer a free summary on your site but require visitors to register to access the other chapters.

“Tamlin’s talk provoked a flood of questions from members about their own website issues, and he was kept busy answering them well beyond the event’s official finishing time.”

Feedback
“Key tip for me – the quality of web copy is very important – we’ll look into getting a copywriter/journalist to work on our content as this is a weak point.”
“Key tip for me – amplify use of LinkedIn in my personal case.”
“Tip for me was to use Web and social media to better market our products and services.”

Parkmead’s Tom Cross at the Annual Conference – Highlights

Posted on by
1
Tom Cross, Annual Conference 2013

Tom Cross, Annual Conference 2013

Tom spoke passionately and honestly about growing a business in Scotland with an international perspective. He shared lessons learned the hard way from Dana Petroleum and before. Tom believes absolutely that businesses of all sizes experience the same challenges, and offered advice from his own experiences.

For example, Tom still believes he listed Dana too early, a mistake he learned from quickly.

“There’s a great mix of people in this room, some small businesses, some startups, just like mine – I’m involved in startup businesses right now,” said Tom. “I would advise you to think very carefully about going public. Advisors often push you in that direction but it’s not a panacea. I still regard going public so early with Dana as a mistake, I should have worked harder to find alternative funding.”

Dana was listed in 1996 because the banks, said Tom, were a “non-starter”. He grew the business over 14 years from just £200k seed capital. By the end of 2010 the company was worth $3.1bn, it sat just outside of the FTSE100 with $600m t/o.

An incredible performance, especially considering the very small team, which was making $5m profit per employee.

Tom’s access to boards of directors and government officials across the world enabled him to see a bigger picture, he says it helped crystallise his determination to form a new type of oil company, one that was free from nonsense, one where he could just get on with it, simply find a lot of energy and supply it to people who need it.

The philosophy worked. Within 12 months of starting up Parkmead, they had their first production. It’s the thing he is most proud of with Parkmead and not surprisingly, when you consider the average in the industry is probably 5,6,7,8 even 9 years.

“All this makes the difference, you get cash coming in and you have choices,” explained Tom.

“We all share the same challenges, looking after customers and partners,” said Tom. “Another thing I have learned the hard way is to temper your enthusiasm. All of us are completely enthusiastic, we see an opportunity and want to push, push, push, grow, grow, grow and sometimes you have to reign back a bit.

“For every 20 opportunities we explore, we probably do one, it’s a very high filter rate. We are ruthless in terms of taking opportunities forward. But when we take on that one, we are ruthless again.

“You are never going to get everything right. If we get 7/10 or even 8/10 we will do well.

“I have an open door policy and have stuck by it in the 20 years I’ve been in business. I encourage people to come to me with their ideas, it doesn’t matter if it sounds crazy, drop me an email, tell me you’ve got an idea, I’ll always look at it and if I can’t do it, I’ll point you in the direction of someone who can help.”

“Entrepreneurs do this naturally guys. We’ve been building Parkmead over the last 18 months and it already has a value of £200m, but what has made that possible is all the goodwill coming back. Our very first deal was with Exxon Mobil, the biggest company in the world – not the biggest oil company – the biggest company.

“If you can do well with Exxon Mobil, as a tiddly little company in a 2up 2down in Aberdeen, that’s serious credentials. So try to make sure you help others.”

Tom is passionate about the future of Scotland. He speaks regularly to groups of young people and encourages them to think big, and give entrepreneurship a try.

“I absolutely believe Scotland has a unique formula, an ability for growing businesses. We are surrounded by excellence, we have great schools and universities, targeted at business. We have a very intelligent, experienced workforce, it’s not huge but quality makes up for quantity. People deal with people who are trustworthy.

“We have shown the way with fantastic world beating public companies, large and respected private companies, and great smaller companies working to become world leaders in their area in Scotland.

“I see Scottish companies operating all over the place, it fills me with pride and makes you want to do more.

“There is no doubt in my mind, and I say this to many young people, we have the potential and framework and mind set to build many more world class companies right here.”

Brand Power

Posted on by
Reply

What is a brand? It’s a living, breathing entity that succeeds or fails as a direct result of every action undertaken in your business. It’s about so much more than logos and packaging; it must reflect the values at the very heart of your company.

Exchange Director Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne of Genius Foods has spent years nurturing the Genius brand and she shared the wisdom garnered at a recent Exchange Focus Dinner.

Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne

Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne

For the members around the table, the knowledge and experiences shared are already having a direct impact on their businesses.

Keith Wight of SST Sensing believes a brand is much more than a company or product name, it is a combination of a promise to customers of quality and reliability, and something they relate to meeting their needs.

When creating a brand you should start with the needs and expectations of the customer, ensuring the brand resonates with importance to them rather than simply being a quirky name.

Keith, the Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year 2011, added:” I am currently looking for an International Business Development Manager and will put greater emphasis on branding for the position than I would have previously done.”

Highlights for Andrew Robert Gordon were being able to pass on benefits of experiences and ideas for others at the table.

“Don’t be afraid to punch above your weight is a good reminder to those who already do, like myself,” said Andrew, whose business is Andrew Gordon Butchery and Fine Foods.

“The points that resonated with me and my business were that of having your team having the belief and passion for what the business is all about, and for them to fully understand my reasons for high standards, top quality produce and first class customer service.

“I will be introducing new booklets and wall charts within my business detailing our company values and standards as a reminder to all what we stand for.”

Feedback from other attendees:

“The value of this event was hearing anecdotes from the range of experience in the room and not just the speaker.”

“Key tip for me was to focus on what your brand means, and building personality and character in the brand.”

Speaker biog – Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne

Acquisition Secrets Revealed – Jim McColl

Posted on by
Reply

Growth by acquisition can be exponential, exciting and financially rewarding. If you get it right. But in many cases the acquisition doesn’t work out, the acquiring company struggles to integrate the new company, and the new company fails to fit in.

Jim McColl

Jim McColl


So how do you make successful acquisitions? Who better to ask than Jim McColl of Clyde Blowers whose successful acquisition strategy over the past 10 years has seen the business develop into a truly global portfolio of 90 companies in 30 different countries, employing 6,000 people, with an annual turnover in excess of £1.35bn.

Murray Strachan chaired the evening. He summed up Jim’s key advice quite simply:
• Focus on what you’re good at, what you can add value to and/or leverage.
• Remember the best business to be in is the one you’re already in.
• Research competition, market/industry sectors and look for gaps, potential and to identify targets.
• Development and implementation of a 100-day plan is the key to integration and success.
• Motivate the management team, help them understand the vision and let them help in developing the storyboard.
• Be careful with the brand of the target, and/or eroding its inherent value.
• Always present an acquisition as a merger.

“Jim’s key approach came down to four factors, said Murray. “Big ambition, a “can do” attitude, understanding your markets and thinking globally.

“There were so many lessons and golden nuggets from Jim my arm hurt writing them all down. What a guy!”

For Amanda Boyle of Bloom VC the key lesson was that successful acquisitions focus on the return not the cost and the most valuable due diligence is carried out on operational issues by an internal team before professional services are engaged.

“Planning and ambition are important at every stage of building your business,” said Amanda. “It’s important to map and articulate these then share with everyone, every day… so that’s what I aim to do!”

She added: “Doing the right thing can be compatible with big ambition. A strong sense of personal values shines through Jim’s approach to negotiation.

The most memorable piece of advice that Tony Banks took away from the evening was that Scotland would flourish as an independent nation.

Tony, of Balhousie Care Group, added:” The highlights for me were tips to get your own team to do most of the operational diligence during an acquisition and then get the ‘expensive’ professionals to only provide confirmatory diligence.

“There will be no major changes in my business but I need to talk to Jim about raising funds and becoming a debt financier,” smiled Tony.

Attendee Thoughts and Key Tips
“Lots of practical advice and guidance, underpinned by focus, patience and sharp vision. What shone through were Jim’s priorities and values, and a very clear sense of self.”
“Target peoples dreams not just how much they want to be paid. Make that dream a reality!”
“Key tip for me – operational diligence before you bring in the expensive professionals to carry out the confirmatory diligence.”
“1. Get to know the firms first, just ‘drop in’ for a coffee whilst you’re in the area – so really get to understand the business from afar 2. Let them think you’re merging 3. Keep staff informed & updated with your goals 4. Do diligence internally where possible.”
“My tips from the evening – Market analysis – get to really know your market and competitors – Key staff – play to their dreams when looking to incentivise – Story board – set out clearly the vision for all to see and buy into – Can do attitude is essential – Look at what you are good at – best business to be in is the one you’re in!”

Jim also recommended a number of his favourite books, his personal top ten list is here. Better get them on your Santa list!

1. Think and Grow Rich – by Napoleon Hill
2. Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude – by W. Clement Stone
3. You’ll See It When You Believe It – by Wayne W. Dyer
4. You Can If You Think You Can – by Norman Vincent Peale
5. Born to Success – by Colin Turner
6. Are You Positive? – by Richard Gaylord Briley
7. The Secret – by Rhonda Byrne
8. A Passion for Success – by Kazuo Inamori
9. Ask And It Is Given – by Esther and Jerry Hicks
10. Abundance – The Future Is Better Than You Think – by Peter H. Diamandis

Biographies “here”

Nominees for Entrepreneur of the Year 2012

Posted on by
Reply

The wait is almost over, and tonight we’ll reveal the winner of the coveted Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Nominees for this prestigious award are:

Name: Tom Cross
Company: Parkmead Group
Location: Aberdeen
Started: 2011
Employees: 15
Financial turnover: £3 million

One of Scotland’s best-known oil and gas entrepreneurs, Tom Cross cut his teeth in the industry as a petroleum engineer and economist with companies like Thomson North Sea and Louisiana Land and Exploration.

After starting Dana Petroleum with an initial investment of around £200,000, Mr Cross helped the company establish the foundations for growth by scouring the former Soviet Union for licences in the early 1990s. Aided by his astute deal-making, he went on to grow the business into one of Scotland’s biggest listed companies. The company’s mix of North Sea and overseas interests was attractive enough to persuade Korean National Oil Company to pay $3bn (£1.87bn) for the business in 2010.

Mr Cross also pursued an entrepreneurial approach to the corporate social responsibility agenda at Dana. This included drawing on the firm’s drilling expertise to secure permanent water sources for the indigenous population of a desert near where it was exploring.

Since becoming executive chairman of Parkmead Group last year, Mr Cross has made a quick start to his attempt to build another big North Sea business by completing four acquisitions.

Deloitte verdict: “Tom’s record with Dana is outstanding, and exemplifies an individual who is not easily deterred and understands how to get the best out of people and business opportunities. Tom is able to set a clear vision for each of his business interests and the momentum he is already generating at the Parkmead Group demonstrates his team and the market’s advocacy of his leadership and strategy.”

Name: Stuart McLean
Company: Zonal
Location: Edinburgh
Started: 1979
Employees: 240
Financial turnover: £36m

Stuart McLean has spent his entire working life developing his family business, Zonal, which was established to fill a gap in the market for a till-based operating system for the hospitality market.

With a customer base that includes the Wetherspoons and Belhaven pubs businesses and the Butlins leisure operation, Zonal has built a market share of around 60% for its Electronic Point of Sale systems. The company conducts research and development at its Edinburgh base and manufactures its products in Livingston. It has also used acquisitions to expand its offering to include functions like online ordering, stock replenishment and self-billing between wholesalers and suppliers.

After achieving steady growth amid often challenging conditions in the UK, Zonal has made inroads into the giant US market. The company has a presence in the state of Florida, where there are more than 60,000 restaurants.

Mr McLean has sanctioned the hefty investment required to build a new head office in Edinburgh to accommodate growth in a clear sign of his confidence in Zonal’s prospects.

Deloitte verdict: “Stuart has built Zonal in a careful and measured way – the results of which are really starting to take effect in terms of its UK and US footprint. Zonal has captured the market almost by stealth, keeping the customer and their interests as the core focus. As an individual he conveys real, yet grounded, ambition for the company and has no intention of letting up.”

Name: Jim Walker
Company: Argent Energy
Location: Motherwell
Started: 2001
Employees: 63
Financial turnover: £47m

Jim Walker rose to prominence as a spokesman for farmers during the BSE crisis that rocked the community in 1996. In a subsequent four-year spell as the president of the National Farmers Union of Scotland he helped members through the foot-and-mouth crisis in 2001.

After joining Argent Group as vice-chairman in 2003, Mr Walker drew on his farming experience to help the company accelerate the development of its biodiesel production business. This involved taking waste outputs from animal rendering plants. Appointed operations director in 2005, Mr Walker then played a key role in helping the firm respond successfully to the challenges posed by the financial crisis in 2008 and the ensuing recession and oil price volatility.

Since participating in a management buyout of the company in 2009. Mr Walker has led the company during a period in which it has more than tripled revenues and increased profitability by 400%.

Deloitte verdict: “Jim is a charismatic individual who has brought to Argent his business skills and political connections, derived from his farming experience. He has carried his team with him and is demonstrating, in a sustained way, a commercial model that makes money in the arena of renewable fuels.

“Jim navigated the business through a difficult period of changeable oil prices and maintained his faith in the long-term potential of the business which now appears to be vindicated, given the continuing growth it now enjoys.”

Winning Growth Strategies

Posted on by
Reply

Our Entrepreneur of the Year Colin Robertson will be taking to the stage at this year’s Annual Conference to talk about growth, the theme for this event.

And it’s his successful business growth strategy – 100% increase in turnover and 50% increase in manufacturing capacity in just five years – that has seen him win a clutch of awards for business and entrepreneurship.

Colin is also Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year and just last month the IOD Scotland named him Director of the Year. In addition, he won the coveted Scottish Manufacturing Leadership Award and has received other accolades recently on behalf of ADL for export achievement and product innovation.

As CEO of Alexander Dennis Limited, Britain’s biggest bus and coach manufacturer, Colin is responsible for 1900 people.

ADL is the market leader in the UK bus sector and is the largest British-owned business in the UK automotive sector. On a global basis, it is at the forefront of developments in the design and production of low emission heavy duty buses and it is now Europe’s leading supplier of low carbon, hybrid-electric buses that are consistently achieving 35% fuel and CO2 reductions. ADL hybrids operating in Edinburgh are achieving 60% fuel savings compared to the Volvo double decks used previously.

A qualified Mechanical and Production Engineer with an Executive MBA, Colin began his career with Cummins Engine Company before joining JI Case, the tractor manufacturer, and then moving on to Terex Corporation.

He enjoyed a meteoric rise with Terex, earning promotion throughout the business before becoming President of their $2 billion construction division. This was followed by his appointment as Executive Vice President of Global Operations, based at the company’s headquarters in Connecticut, USA, where he was part of a leadership team that turned Terex into a $9 billion worldwide corporation.

In April 2007 he left Terex to become CEO of ADL. Since then the business has increased its manufacturing capacity by 50% and seen turnover grow more than 100%. It has established itself as the western world’s fastest-growing bus and coach manufacturer and formed new alliances and assembly operations in China, North America and New Zealand.

Social Networking for Business – Advice from the Experts

Posted on by
Reply

“There’s no organisation, whether commercial, political or public, that can’t or shouldn’t use social media. If you’re not using social media in five years, you won’t get any new business”.

A bold statement from Gordon White to open his presentation, but it certainly grabbed attention.

Gordon, founder of FatBuzz, was speaking at the recent Social Networking for Business event where he shared top tips and case study examples to illustrate his point.

He explained that people use SM to check out others before they meet them, so they actually feel they know you even though they haven’t met you yet. That’s the power of SM.

Ultimately, if you’re not visible online, you’ll be excluded or could lose out on new business.

According to Gordon, the old way of marketing, advertising and PR is slowly going out of fashion. Merely paying for more advertising to get more exposure is no longer the way. It’s now all about investment in content and earning your space online.

Whether you are operating in a B2C or a B2B space, SM applies equally. Use it effectively to find people who want to do business with you and tailor your marketing to them.

Social media is ruled by content. Gordon warned that in future, advertising will be the price you pay for NOT building your relevant community online.

So how do you get started? Simply by asking ‘why’ and ‘what’ you want to achieve, then developing a strategy. You need to work out right at the start whether you’re trying to increase awareness, generate more sales, or drive more traffic to your website.

Said Gordon, doing it because everyone else is doing it, is not a good reason.

And he blew one of the biggest myths about SM right out of the water;
SM isn’t free – you need to invest a lot of time upfront in developing content and then keep delivering all the time. .

The biggest barrier to effectiveness of SM is that some companies block it in the workplace, believing it affects employee productivity. But Gordon disagrees, he believes all employees could become marketeers or ambassadors for your business, the responsibility for marketing no longer falls on just one person or one department.

And since SM is available on mobile phones anyway, is there really any point in blocking company network systems? Gordon suggests you look on SM as the new ‘tea break‘ – time to chill out, communicate with friends and having done so, be more productive during the rest of the day.

There’s always a worry about clients saying anything negative. But it’s better to have visibility and be seen as a company who deal with the problem, thus turning it into a positive, so don’t panic if you get a negative comment, look at it as an opportunity, but remember if it does becomes an issue, take it offline until its been resolved and then ensure you post the positive outcome online.

Most importantly, if you’re going to go down this route and allow employees access to social networking sites, it’s vital your company has a SM Policy.

It’s always better to introduce something through choice rather than being forced, so do the strategy, plan your implementation and engagement because in the future, SM won’t be a choice – potential employees (Generation Y) will be checking out employees online, including their websites and SM activity, before considering an interview.

Once you have worries about security and policy and strategy out of the way, the next question is what should you talk about?

Every company has lots to share. They simply don’t realise how much material or interesting information exists within their company. SM can be in the form of a tweet, a photo of a product or event within the company, a status update, a blog or advertising an event. It’s not necessarily about constantly generating new information. Look at what you’ve done or used in the past and how you can re-package and re-issue.
Watch what other companies and people are sharing online and learn from that, because that’s what they’re finding important or interesting.

And finally the most important question: what’s the ROI of SM?

It’s a question that’s asked often. But as Gordon asked, how often do companies validate their return on any form of marketing or business investment? The key here is to move more of the existing marketing budget to online, as opposed to increasing the overall budget.

SM has to compliment what you do offline. If you can’t afford or have the right resources in-house, then you can outsource.

Gordon’s final piece of advice?

Don’t put anything online that you wouldn’t want to read in the newspapers the next day.

Brand Building – the importance of a strong brand

Posted on by
1

Marketing guru and acclaimed marketing textbook author Philip Kotler once said :”If you are not a brand, you are a commodity.”

No one wants to be a just a commodity, so how do you build a lasting, memorable, engaging brand for you and your business?

Ian Ord, founding director of corporate communications consultancy Fifth Ring spoke at a recent Focus Dinner, describing the key components of a successful brand strategy and how to build your own brand.

So what is a brand? And what isn’t it? According to Ian, a brand is not a logo, nor a trademark. Nike uses a slogan, but that’s not a brand either, these are simply symbols of a brand. A brand is not a corporate identity, nor a patent.

A brand is a character, it’s integrity, and people instantly recognise what it is; it is a person’s gut feel about what the product or service or company is about.

You really can’t define your brand since a brand is actually defined by others, it’s what others think and say about you and your business. Think of it as being closer to a reputation, if you consider what is the reputation of the company, then that’s very much a brand.

Ian gave several examples of strong brands, such as Coca-Cola and Hoover, a brand that is so well known it has become a verb; doing the Hoovering. Can you imagine a young person saying “I’m going to Dyson”?

There are several key components of a brand; firstly, it has to serve the strategy and secondly it has to be consistent, eg you get the same experience is every Apple store in the world. Ian explained the business must be aligned around the brand, everything aligned to enhance the brand and the overall brand experience.

A successful brand also needs to deliver on the brand promise, for example, if you buy an Apple or a Dyson you have an expectation.

Brand promises have 5 components –
1) Differentiation of yourself, your business or your product – the who what why?
2) Everything is aligned behind the brand
3) Innovation is essential to keep pushing the boundaries and keep ahead
4) You need to validate what you are doing all the time by researching and listening to customers
5) Finally, you must cultivate your brand by trying to improve what you do

If you’re interested in reading more about branding, try these:

The Brand Gap – Martin Neumeier
The Purple Cow – Seth Godin
Delivering Happiness – Tony Hseih, Zappos (a copy of which was sent to members last year)

And you can read more about Ian Ord and the Fifth Ring.

The Exchange in the Financial times

Posted on by
Reply

Mixed Feelings About 2012 Prospects

Outlook Testing times, but some businesses are optimistic, writes Jonathan Moules in the Financial Times

The natural optimism of business founders is being tested as they look forward to a difficult year ahead.

Those who are able to export or who can demonstrate how their product or service can save customers money are the most bullish about 2012.

Others, facing a in customer spending and struggling to raise finance, are more bleak about their prospects. John Anderson, chief executive of the Entrepreneurial Exchange, a networking group for Scotland’s start-up community, said that even securing angel funding from wealthy individuals was difficult because those doing so were focused on propping up their existing investments.

Many companies have already trimmed their headcount and cut unnecessary costs, so it is hard to see where they will economise if trading conditions worsen, he added.

“The problem is that there is not a lot of fat left in these businesses, so another lost customer or a delay in an order could really hurt,” he explained.

At the same time, Anderson said he knew of several companies that were bucking the trend, such as Falkirk-based bus maker Alexander Dennis Limited, which has doubled its market share in the downturn.

Another bullish business is Henley-based babyfood maker Ella’s Kitchen, which almost doubled its turnover this year to £31m and more than doubled its profit, partly due to expansion in overseas markets. Paul Lindley, Ella’s Kitchen’s founder said: “We see lots of opportunity to grow internationally.”

Julie Meyer, chief executive of Ariadne Capital, an entrepreneur-led investor group, said opportunities exist for those who adapt to changing consumer demand. “People are learning to live more efficiently and companies need to react to that,” she said. “Frugal is going to be very sexy.”

Technology start-ups have held up pretty well largely because it has been needed to improve the performance of companies, said Simon Clark, managing partner at Fidelity Growth Partners Europe. “Everyone is more realistic, which is a good thing,” he said. “Good entrepreneurs focus on cash and growth, in that order.”

(This article appeared in the Financial Times December 17 2011)

The winners … Colin Robertson named Scottish Entrepreneur of the Year

Posted on by
Reply

Bus-builder boss Colin Robertson named Scottish Entrepreneur of the Year

Alexander Dennis chief executive takes home top accolade at the Entrepreneurial Exchange Awards Dinner

Colin Robertson, chief executive of Falkirk-based bus and coach manufacturer Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) was named Entrepreneur of the Year at the Entrepreneurial Exchange’s annual awards dinner, sponsored by Clydesdale Bank, held at the Glasgow Hilton last night (1 Dec).

The awards, in association with Deloitte and media partner The Herald, are Scotland’s leading and longest-standing annual awards for growth-oriented entrepreneurs, recognising those who have excelled in this area over the last twelve months.

Since taking the reins at ADL in 2007 Colin successfully steered the company through the economic downturn with its UK market share almost doubling to over 50%, turnover increasing twofold to £360m, profits set to rise significantly this year and next and an increasingly global footprint which takes in the US, Canada, Hong Kong and New Zealand.

Intuitively identifying the recession as an opportunity to expand Colin introduced invaluable out-sourcing arrangements, enabling ADL to increase production by 60% while preserving its core workforce in facilities at Falkirk, Scarborough, Guildford and key overseas locations.

Jim Boyle, head of entrepreneurial business at Deloitte, and awards judge, said: “Colin has demonstrated fantastic entrepreneurial instinct in his ability to identify and capitalise on an opportunity in a tough economic climate. His passion and drive is evident in his ongoing ambition for the company and I would like to extend my own personal congratulations to Colin for his achievements. Colin epitomises the best of what Scotland’s entrepreneurial community has to offer and, with him in the driver’s seat, I’m sure ADL can look forward to a successful future. He has totally transformed the business and it is now a great example of a successful Scottish manufacturing business helping drive an export-led economic recovery.”