Company...

By Karen Sibson, Manchester Chamber

Manchester logistics provider Cardinal Maritime landed a brace of awards at Manchester Chamber's annual Shamrock Awards including the coveted Member Company of the Year.

The recognition crowned four years of hard work by the three founding directors - Rob Cross, David Garratt and Brian Hay - who started the business in 1998.

David Garratt said: "We are absolutely delighted to have won the Business Improvement Award and then to be announced Member Company of the Year was tremendous."

Fellow director Brian Hay added: "We've seized our opportunities and our combination of ability, youthfulness and thoughtfulness has been a winning formula."

Staff

Cardinal Maritime was also announced runner up in the Best Small Business category and put their success down to employing the right people.

David Garratt explained: "Our business is made by the people who work for us. It's a people business - we don't have products or stock to sell - so they are vital to our success."

More than 300 guests attended the awards dinner at Old Trafford when the winners of the popular Aer Lingus-sponsored event, now in its sixth year, were announced in a record number of categories.

Chief Executive of Aer Lingus Commuter, Brendan Cronin, joined hosts Manchester Chamber chief executive Angie Robinson and Chamber Business Enterprises chief executive Tony Bickerstaffe to present the Shamrock Awards.

Innovative

In awarding the Member Company of the Year prize to Cardinal Maritime, the judges commented that the business had "really captured the spirit of the Shamrock Awards."

They described it as "a truly innovative and forward looking company whose outstanding business improvement has been breathtaking."

Below are the key characteristics attributable to winners of the 2003 Inner City 100 Index

Succeeding in the inner city

• Average 5-year growth rate of Inner City 100 winners was 575%
• Inner City 100 winners have created a total of 5,417 jobs in the past five years.
• Despite extraordinary growth rates, only 8 firms return a loss. The combination of fast growth with profitability underlines the long-term sustainability of firms

Profile

• The typical firm has an average sales turnover of £7.4 million, 82 staff and was founded 10 years ago.
• The Inner City 100 cover a broad range of industry sectors, from food manufacturers Bighams of Park Royal, London to Soup Ltd, an interactive communications consultancy from Norwich . Manufacturing is represented (7% of the list), as is construction (10%). Wholesale and retail (15%) and business activities (27%) are the two most commonly occurring sectors.
• 3 of the top ten firms on the Inner City 100 Index were founded and are managed by ethnic minority entrepreneurs.
• 35% of firms on the Inner City 100 Index have female founders or co-founders.
• 40% of firms' managing directors had immediate family members that owned and ran their own business.

Location, Location, Location

• 83% of Inner City 100 firms rate their location as a good or excellent place to do business.
• 96% of the Inner City 100 are involved in their community for example, through mentoring of at-risk young people, sponsoring local events, clubs and charities as well as supporting staff in their community activities.
• 97% of the Inner City 100 are positive or very positive about the outlook for their firms over the next five years.

Cardinal Maritime Ltd achieved Investor in People status in 2004.

Investors in People is about good management and business principles based on the belief that an organisation's success and performance are directly linked to the quality, ability and commitment of its staff. It is founded on the principle that staff count and they have an important contribution to make to the overall success of the Centre.

IIP recognises that responsibility for the organisation's performance begins at the top with the Board and Heads of Departments, who have an obligation to provide support and encouragement to the rest of the management team. In return, the Managers have an obligation to provide support, encouragement and a constructive working environment.

Irrespective of an individual's job position within the organisation, we all have a variety of personal needs. Whilst they may vary from person to person, they may include:

• To enjoy our work.
• To do our job to the best of our ability.
• To be recognised for the quality of our work.
• To be given the opportunity to improve through personal training and development.
• To be proud of the organisation we work for.

Investors in People seek to create a working environment that will work towards the contribution and realisation of these goals.

In January 2006 Cardinal Maritime Ltd scooped The Technology Award, sponsored by Box Top Technologies.

"The judges felt Cardinal Maritime demonstrated significant tangible benefits by using technology to simplify pricing. Using this technology it has enabled it to streamline its quotations process by reducing the time taken to calculate freight prices, improve accuracy and provide faster response times"

In 2002 Cardinal Maritime Ltd was hailed by The Manchester Evening News as being a "truly great company" picking up the prestigious award for Business of the Year.

M.E.N. editor Paul Horrocks said in his welcoming address that all finalists were "testimony to the drive and innovation that is at the heat of the North West 's business philosophy".

Cardinal Maritime was awarded finalist status in the following categories of the prestigious National Business Awards 2006 sponsored by Orange;

• Business of the Year
• Growth Strategy of the Year
• Entrepreneur of the Year - Brian Hay, Group CEO

Gavin Brown, the event organiser, commented that "Cardinal Maritime is a truly innovative and forward thinking business. The investment in the FREIGHTcalculatorT technology, coupled with the team spirit within the organisation impressed the Panel immensely"