Select team celebrates Queen’s Award

AN East Anglian company which organises biomedical conferences and training events around the world was yesterday presented with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise.

Select Biosciences, based on the Bull Lane Industrial Estate at Acton, near Sudbury, was honoured in the International Trade section of the awards having increased its overseas sales 11-fold over the past six years to �1.4million.

The awards were announced in April, to coincide with HM The Queen’s birthday, and Select’s managing director and founder, Ken Browne, was presented with its trophy yesterday by the Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk, Lord Tollemache.

Mr Browne established two companies, Technology Networks and Select Biosciences, on the Bull Lane estate 10 years ago following the sale of the previous business in which he was involved, STEM Corporattion, a scientific equipment business.

For the first five years, the main business was Technology Networks, which became an early leader in bringing internet-based “eMarketing” to the scientific sector.

Select Biosciences began as a distributor of scientific equipment but then changed direction in order to leverage the extensive marketing database built up by Technology Networks by organising biomedical conferences and allied services such as training courses, market reports, recruitment and consultancy.

From organising three conferences in 2004, in the UK and the United States, the company last year arranged a total of 34 events spread over eight different countries including India, Brazil and China.

The two companies, which relocated to new purpose-designed offices on the other side of the Bull Lane estate two years ago, now employ around 20 people.

Lord Tollemache congratulated the company on its achievement, and Mr Browne also paid tribute to the “can do” attitude of the team.