@Tim_Huel. Many thanks for your reply. I had no idea you were ranked 30th out of the 100 best mid sized companies to work for. And indeed, ranked 3rd in the top 10 food and drinks companies. That is seriously impressive. You have Trust Pilot mentioned on your main web page but why not add these rankings too?
You ask a brilliant question. What are the benefits of the Queen’s award?
Firstly, my company manufactures high tech scientific instrumentation and 90% of our turnover is exporting to some 60 different countries throughout the world. Our customers are typically university and government and non government research organisations. Huel is a manufacturer of food products to consumers but the one thing my company and Huel have in common is manufacturing and exporting.
1st benefit of the Queen’s award is recognition of the huge efforts our people made to make the company very successful. Exporting is not without its challenges. Although we had been trading for some 30 years, with good years and bad years we finally accumulated a brilliant management team focussed on leading the company forward and it was good to see all that effort being recognised by the Queen. We were all proud to win this prestigious award and the logo went on all our stationery and web page.
Secondly, credibility. We have QA systems in place and so do our competitors. Often, we had to tender for sales and the Queen’s award definitely helped us to stand out from our competitors. We had something unique which our main competitors did not have. If price was broadly the same, being recognised by the Queen got us more points which very often led to us being awarded the order. I can’t say Huel will see boosted sales, should you be awarded, but it will certainly make you stand out from your competitors.
Thirdly, after another few years of continuous growth, we were being approached to sell the company and in the end, we were bought over by a Chinese company. There is no doubt that the Queen’s award added value which the Chinese recognised and were prepared to pay a premium for. The decision to sell to the Chinese was a difficult one. We tried a Management buy-out but the Chinese made an offer we couldn’t match. The shareholders were very pleased indeed and, contrary to those who thought the company would be moved to China, the Chinese invested heavily in our Scottish manufacturing base and grew it quickly into an even larger and more profitable company, and adding other aquisitions too. Everyone was delighted with how things worked out.
In short, the Queen’s award will add recognition and credibility. Another accolade to add to your growing list of awards. As I said in the original post, the application is very simple to do. I know most of your turnover is web based so having the Queen’s award logo on your web page can only add value and credibility.
We keep hearing how huge companies like Amazon, Facebook etc. don’t pay their fair share of tax. What you don’t often hear is the billions these companies pay in PAYE and NI from every single employee.
Exporting brings in foreign money and any student of economics will recognise the boost exports make to our economy. The Queen’s award recognises this.
