Rewarding the survivors

Sep 9 2009 by Iain Laing, The Journal

The Fastest 50 has a distinguished history of highlighting the region’s business success stories. As the build-up to this year’s event continues, Iain Laing looks back at some past award winners and the ongoing importance of the event.

LAST October was not a time to be optimistic about the future. US banking giant Lehman Brothers had collapsed, there were genuine fears about a number of British banks going the same way and predictions of a vast global meltdown were gathering pace.

The desire and need for some good news was palpable and, in its own way, the Fastest 50 Awards did just that, celebrating the region’s achievements and injecting a note of positivity that the end of the world was not nigh.

In that respect, the event was living up to its original raison d’être.

Started back in 1998 by North law firm Ward Hadaway, the Fastest 50 was launched with the intention to “generate a positive message at a time when there have been economic setbacks”.

Those words from Martin Hulls, partner at the Newcastle-based firm which joined forces with The Journal to establish the event, have an almost prophetic ring to them when considered in the context of last October’s awards.

In 1998, the main economic issues exercising the collective minds of the region’s economy were high interest rates and a strong pound.

These may seem to pale in comparison to the shockwaves of last autumn and its ongoing recessionary effects, which have hit almost all sectors of North East business, but the concept remains the same. In any given year there will be problems and challenges which present themselves – it is the companies which overcome such challenges to survive and thrive which deserve to be celebrated and on which the Fastest 50 focuses attention.

Back in 1998, it was the region’s traditional economic strengths which came to the fore in the inaugural Fastest 50.

Armstrong Technology Associates – a Wallsend-based company formed by members of the design team at Swan Hunter shipyard – won the overall award after clinching contracts in the offshore and gas industry, a sector which is still proving itself a stalwart of the regional economy.

The North East’s traditional manufacturing strength was demonstrated by two of the other inaugural winners – engineering group Bywell Holdings and manufacturer Isocom Components, who won fastest-growing large and medium companies respectively – while engineering consultancy Utility Technical Services won the fastest- growing small company award.

Over the ensuing years, the Fastest 50 has provided a valuable barometer of the rapid changes in the make-up of the region’s economy with an increasing number of awards going to leisure and service sector businesses.

It has also charted how different geographical areas of the region’s economy have grown – for example, from 1999 to 2001 all but two of the winning companies came from the south of the region as the Tees Valley in particular enjoyed swift expansion.

The range of the winning companies over the years – from nurseries to truck part makers – shows the rich variety of business in the North East and how a wide spectrum of companies can and do succeed here.

In addition, the presence of major players such as Bannatyne Fitness, Eaga Partnership and IHC The Engineering Business down the years demonstrates the Fastest 50’s ability to pinpoint real rising stars.

The winners of this year’s awards – backed by The Journal and sponsored by Ward Hadaway – will be revealed at a ceremony on October 9.

Thanks to the input of St Chad’s College/Durham Business School, who have compiled this year’s Fastest 50, it will be more authoritative and more widely anticipated than ever.

Colin Hewitt, head of commercial law at Ward Hadaway, said: “Companies have been vying to get into the Fastest 50 ever since the awards started and this year will be no exception, despite all that has gone on over the past 12 months.

“The Fastest 50 has become a real fixture on the region’s calendar and a chance for us to celebrate all that is best in North East business.”

The definitive list of the Fastest 50 growing companies in the region for 2009 will be published in The Journal later this month.

Page 2: Fastest 50 hall of fame