A highlight of Suffolk’s business calendar – the EADT Business Awards 2023 took place last night, celebrating the very best of our region’s businesses.
You can see the list of winners and finalists below, and discover more about them in our winners supplement in the paper on Wednesday, October 4.
This year has been a great year for me personally, with my wedding, a trip to Buckingham Palace with my mother because of her charity work and the chance to do the job that I always dreamed of having as a child at the EADT. But even in a year like this one, there have been tough moments and I know our business community has felt them too.
All year, we’ve been running stories about businesses being crippled by high energy bills, worries about water supplies, bad harvests and your customers struggling to manage in a cost-of-living crisis.
Local enterprises have persevered though, and they’ve even thrived.
I know because our newspaper and website have also been filled daily with uplifting stories of businesses overcoming the odds, new start-ups, inspirational new projects and, of course, the numerous attempts to help others through charity and other initiatives to get through the hard times.
This year we’ve had a record number of entries – 140 in total – and it’s been exceptionally hard to pick the winners.
More than £3,000 was also raised for Suffolk Accident Rescue Service (SARS) at the celebration, the chosen charity for this year’s EADT Business Awards.
This year’s theme of ‘people’ saw businesses looking within at the committed staff and management teams that drive growth and build communities, as well as looking out at the customers that have supported them along the way.
I’d like to say thank you to our headline sponsors, Suffolk Chamber of Commerce and Sizewell C, and to all of our category sponsors. Without their support, these awards wouldn’t happen.
I’d also like to thank our drinks reception partners Paddy & Scott’s, last year’s Suffolk Business of the Year, comedian Jen Brister for hosting and our venue sponsor Milsoms Kesgrave Hall for always giving us such a fantastic evening.
We’ve loved meeting all the winners during this year’s awards process and will look forward to seeing some of them again at Kesgrave Hall next year – in July this time, just as it used to be before the pandemic.
Entries for next year’s EADT Business Awards open in January. For more information, please keep your eyes peeled for updates at eadtbusinessawards.co.uk
The winners
Environmental & Sustainability Award
Sponsored by Port One
Winner: Denny Bros
Finalists:
Nedging Hall Estate
Radical Waste
Spectra Packaging
Rising Star of the Year
Sponsored by Birketts
Winner: Insight Energy Renewables
Finalists:
Quay Street Collective
Satsuma Group
Sunrise Studios
Innovation Award
Sponsored by University of Suffolk
Winner: Frugalpac
Finalists:
6 Alpha Associates
Associated Asphalt Contracting
Roadfill
Customer Excellence Award
Sponsored by Greater Anglia
Winner: Attwells Solicitors
Finalists:
Brampton Manor
Kingsfleet
MacKenzie King
Growth Business of the Year
Sponsored by Ashtons Legal
Winner: Events Under Canvas
Finalists:
BA Boyle & Son
Seatrium Offshore Renewable Services
X-on Health
Positive Impact in the Community
Sponsored by Lovell
Winner: Sunrise Studios
Finalists:
Home Instead
Inspire
St Elizabeth Hospice
Small Business of the Year
Sponsored by Fleximize
Winner: The Suffolk Jungle Room
Finalists:
Kingsfleet
PredicAire
Satsuma Group
Medium Business of the Year
Sponsored by Pound Gates Chartered Insurance Brokers
Winner: Location Works
Finalists:
Events Under Canvas
Process Instrument Solutions
Pump Street
Large Business of the Year
Sponsored by Larking Gowen
Winner: The Hotel Folk
Finalists:
Bacton Transport Services
Maritime Cargo Processing
Thomas Ridley
Employer of the Year
Winner: Jimmy’s Farm and Wildlife Park
Finalists:
Brampton Manor
Morrison Freight
SimpleClick Solutions
Director of the Year
Sponsored by Churchmanor Estates
Winner: Mark Dolman – Portable Space
Finalists:
Colin Yaxley – Seatrium Offshore Renewable Services
James Tweed – Coracle
John Parnell – Generate Leads Online
Suffolk Business of the Year
Sponsored by Sizewell C and Suffolk Chamber of Commerce
Winner: Denny Bros
Second place: The Hotel Folk
Third place: Location Works
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