Onyx Group named best in business in Tees Valley

Mar 26 2010 by Karen McLauchlan, Evening Gazette

STOCKTON-BASED Onyx Group has been named the best in business in the Tees Valley.

The fast-growing data security business was crowned Company of the Year at the Tees Valley final of the nebusiness awards 2009 last night.

The award follows an outstanding year of growth in 2009 and a strong start to 2010 with Onyx already announcing plans to open its first international office in New York this year and continue to pursue its target of becoming a £50mturnover business.

The awards, organised by the Evening Gazette and its sister paper The Journal in association with Business Link, also proved to be one of triple success for Darlington-based diesel engine manufacturer Cummins.

The firm scooped the Employer of the Year, Corporate Responsibility and Environment and Manufacturing titles.

In total 11 awards were given to a outstanding companies at the event held at the Olympia Building at Teesside University.

All of the winners will go through with those from Durham and Wearside and Tyneside and Northumberland to the grand regional final at Hardwick Hall in Sedgefield on April 29.

Neil Stephenson, managing director of Onyx Group, said the award came after an “amazing” and “special” year for the company.

“This is such an accolade, we are very proud to be a Tees Valley company with out HQ in Stockton - and we will be very proud to represent the Tees Valley at the North-east final.”

In the last 12 months Onyx has made the step from being a predominantly regionally-based SME into a leading national technology provider by increasing its assets, geographical reach and making major gains in its target markets through a series of acquisition purchases. During 2009 it also opened its new headquarters in Portrack, Stockton, and was named one of Britain’s fastest-growing technology companies in the Sunday Times Tech Track 100. It has bought five companies in 18 months and now has offices in London and Scotland, as well as the North-east.

“There will be more of the same in 2010,” said Mr Stephenson. “We are now working with bigger blue chip companies and we’re always looking at more acquisitions. We will also open an office in New York this year.”