Finalists announced for Kent Excellence in Business Awards 2010

Thirty-four companies and individuals have been selected as finalists for the second Kent Excellence in Business Awards (KEiBA), which have attracted 20% more entries this year.

Kevin Lynes, Kent County Council Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development said:

“It is great to see such as impressive response and I am really pleased to see entries from so many different types of business as well. These awards are growing from strength to strength and I look forward to seeing even more take part next year. I wish all the finalists good luck, because just by entering the awards, they show themselves to be great ambassadors of Kent business. "

Geraldine Allinson, Chairman, KM Group said:
"It is great to see businesses from across the whole county represented in the list of KEiBA Finalists. The quality of this year's entrants was extremely high and I know that the judges had a tough time whittling the entries down to these 34 impressive companies and individuals. We now wait, with baited breath, to see who actually the winners of this outstanding accolade are. I would like to congratulate all the finalists, as getting this far is truly recognition of excellence. I wish them all ' good luck' and look forward to meeting many of them on 1 July."

All of the entries went through a rigorous judging process, which rated entrants against pre-set criteria to select a shortlist for each category. The judges then visited the short-listed entrants to carry out a more in-depth investigation through face-to-face interviews before selecting the list of finalists.

The awards ceremony will be held at Chatham’s Historic Dockyard on 1 July 2010. Winners will receive a trophy and it’s hoped that the awards will also boost staff morale and help attract new staff. Winning an award will also help businesses raise their profile in Kent. Tickets for the ceremony can be ordered from the KEiBA website at www.keiba.co.uk

KEiBA is staged and produced by Kent County Council and the KM Group to recognise and reward excellence in Kent’s businesses. The 11 categories, recognise companies of all sizes as well as individual awards.

The finalists from each categories are - in alphabetical order ( company name or surname ) 
 

Large Business of the Year

Howletts and Port Lympne Estates and The Howletts Wild Animal Trust
Scipac Ltd
System C Healthcare PLC

SME Business of the Year

GML Construction Ltd
Net-Tex Industries
The Plumbing Academy
Xmo Strata Ltd

Start Up Business of the Year

Evolution Slimming Ltd
VirtualGym TV
Wonderful Creative Agency 

Best Business from the Creative Industries

CFA Media Ltd
Orange Street Music Club
Wonderful Creative Agency

Best Leisure and Tourism Business

The Bell Hotel (Sandwich)
English Wines Group PLC
Leeds Castle Foundation

Best Business in Adult Social Care

The Abbeyfield Kent Society
DGSM yourChoice
Porchlight

Business Commitment to the Community Award

Denne Construction
Hospice in the Weald
Leeds Castle Foundation

Employer of the Year

Denne Construction
Holiday Extras
Scipac Ltd

Customer Service and Commitment

Carousel Logistics
Holiday Extras
Royal British Legion Industries

Entrepreneur of the Year 

Paul Gardner
Wayne Hodgson
David Reekie

Young Entrepreneur of the Year

Kate Blyth
Charmaine Kemp
Dan Maudhub