Innovation Award
Category criteria
- This category is open to individuals, teams or businesses making a big impact with an innovation.
- The innovation could be a new product, service or process or it could be an innovative use of an existing product, service or process.
- The judges will be keen to find out about the intellectual processes which gave rise to the design and development of the innovation.
- The judges will also want to know how innovation is handled within the culture of the company and will welcome nominations from businesses that have innovation at the core of their ethos.
Reliance Medical Ltd
Innovation Award entrant
The UK’s leading trade supplier and manufacturer of first aid and medical supplies, Reliance Medical grew its turnover by more than £10m to £30million in 2023 and it’s on target for a £50million turnover by 2025.
The Talke-based company has expanded globally over the past 12 months including opening an office and warehouse in Sydney, Australia and a European distribution base in Hungary.
Pre-hospital trauma has been a key area of investment including the development of a new range featuring bleed control products and heavy duty, tactical first aid bags for emergency medical professionals, police and the military. It has created new jobs in this area, investing in a UK factory to solely focus on the development of a new life saving product range.
The company is proud to support international humanitarian efforts – last year it manufactured and supplied more than 50,000 specialist personal issue first aid kits to support those caught up in the conflict in Ukraine.
Reliance is committed to increasing the speed of access and effectiveness of Automatic External Defibrillators. Last year it broke world records by providing 20,000 AEDs to public places in the UK. This year it is launching a revolutionary AED cabinet that can automatically heat or cool the AED to ensure its optimum operating temperature whatever the weather or climate.
In 2022 the company launched Aura3, an industry first flagship range of 100% recycled and recyclable first aid kit boxes as part of a strategy to reduce and eventually remove virgin plastics from products. It has continued this environmentally friendly direction with the development of Titan, a rugged, fully-recycled/recyclable workplace first aid kit box. It is estimated that Titan and Aura3 will save a combined equivalent of more than six million plastic bottles each year.
Single use plastics are also being removed from its kit boxes and packaging and replaced with sustainable paper wrap. By 2025 none of its first aid consumables will be packaged in plastic.
Thomas Pear, Managing Director Reliance Medical Ltd, said: “Reliance Medical Ltd is a world-leading manufacturer and trade distributor of the highest quality surgical dressings, healthcare products, medical equipment and first aid supplies.
“Last year we were immensely proud to be shortlisted along with two other local companies in the Staffordshire University Business Awards in the Growth and Business of the Year categories.
“Since last year's awards, Reliance has expanded into new markets, product categories and territories. We are delighted to take part again in 2024.”
Reliance Medical has entered the Business of the Year, Growth and Innovation categories of the Staffordshire University Business Awards.
Play@ Lower Drayton Farm
Innovation Award entrant
When Play@ Lower Drayton Farm opened its doors in August 2020 it had four staff – now it employs a team of 67 and has been named Staffordshire’s Small Visitor Attraction of the Year.
A family-run beef and arable farm near Penkridge, Lower Drayton has been welcoming the public for nearly 20 years. The Brexit vote and the prospect of losing EU grants reinforced the need to diversify further - becoming a tourist attraction was the solution.
Play@ Lower Drayton Farm has enabled Managing Director Richard Bower to quadruple the farm’s turnover, create dozens of jobs and safeguard a business that has been owned by his family for generations.
He said: “I’m proud to be born and bred in Staffordshire, to have been educated here, to run a business here and to hopefully give back to our employees and visitors.
“I feel very lucky to be able to continue the good work of previous generations that have gone before me on the farm. Without them we wouldn’t be where we are now.”
Play@ has been recognised with several awards – it was named Best New Tourist Attraction of the Year in the 2022 Enjoy Staffordshire Food & Tourism Awards, Best Small Visitor Attraction of the Year in the 2023 Enjoy Staffordshire Food & Tourism Awards and was shortlisted in the School Travel Awards 2023.
A key focus within the business is looking after returning visitors. The introduction of memberships in August 2022 allowed attracted even more loyal customers, with more than 700 current members.
There has been significant ongoing investment in the attraction, with visitor feedback driving many of the improvements. Examples include the installation of a new grass toboggan run to the outdoor play area within the first 12 months and an additional, undercover bouncy pillow installed in summer 2023. 2023 also saw significant investment in the Dino Discovery Maize Maze with the addition of life-size animatronic dinosaurs.
The biggest investment to date was the Christmas event for 2023 – Jingle Ville. More than £250,000 was invested in converting a barn into a magical winter village complete with a set built by professional designers and a purpose-built cinema barn which will be used for events throughout the year. It proved a huge success with visitor numbers exceeding the target for year one.
Richard Bower has entered the Entrepreneur of the Year category of the Staffordshire University Business Awards and has entered Play@ Lower Drayton Farm into the Small Business of the Year and Innovation categories.
Layla Hashim and Box o Fun
Innovation Award entrant
Entrepreneur Layla Hashim feels such a connection with clay that she moved to Stoke-on-Trent to live in the spiritual home of the pottery industry.
“I moved to Stoke-on-Trent because of pottery,” she said. “I’m from Liverpool and I was in Birmingham before moving here. In contrast Stoke-on-Trent has such a real sense of community and so many pockets of creativity.”
The 42-year-old is the founder of Box O Fun Ltd, a multi-stranded business that began with Layla teaching pottery techniques remotely during the pandemic and now sees her working to improve processes within the ceramics industry.
Current projects include Layla working with Innovate UK and a data scientist to build a machine learning model.
She also creates geometric forms using CAD software and algorithms as part of the design process.
Another recent project saw Layla working with a Staffordshire University engineering student to create modelling tools using less material as part of a wider concept of bringing tool making back to Stoke-on-Trent.
She is also working on developing ceramic glazes for use in healthcare settings using nano-materials.
Layla is not traditionally trained in pottery but developed a passion for ceramics and its various processes after starting to handmake pottery as a hobby.
She said: “I started off with pottery as something to get me out of the house and being creative. I learnt very quickly and really got into the material science side of things.
“There was a point where I was thinking of doing a research degree even though I didn’t have an undergraduate degree. That’s how far my interest and research had progressed.”
Layla was part of the first cohort of the Peter Coates MSc in Entrepreneurship. She has entered the Innovation Award and Alumni Business Person of the Year categories of the Staffordshire University Business Awards.
Bri-Stor Systems Ltd
Innovation Award entrant
An innovation by Staffordshire-based Bri-Stor Systems Ltd could save one of its clients an estimated £500,000 of fuel consumption annually.
The UK’s largest converter of lightweight commercial vehicles, Bri-stor is constantly innovating to meet its customers’ bespoke needs.
Based in Hixon, near Stafford, the company has around 250 employees and is part of the Hex Group that was founded more than 40 years ago.
The company’s latest development is a result of a client setting the challenge of powering tyre machines with high energy demands whilst reducing the impact on the environment.
A custom-built prototype vehicle is now delivering the results the customer needs to make significant change across the fleet.
This prototype has been tested and developed over a two-year period with the most recent iteration completing trials to the highest standards in demanding city centre locations including Birmingham and London.
Bri-Stor Systems invested more than £50,000 in purchasing a new vehicle, tyre and air compressor equipment and lithium batteries and then converting the interior to the exact customer specification.
Its pioneering lithium-based solution provides a 10x increase in renewable energy available when compared to the first prototype deployed 18 months earlier, empowering the vehicle to operate all onboard equipment for an entire working day without the engine running.
The prototype was able to deliver a 45% reduction in fuel consumption and CO2, successfully changing more than 200 tyres in a single month without the need to run the engine. This vehicle has now proven the business case for change and, as a result, a number of other large corporate fleet operators in the mobile tyre sector are looking to place orders.
The savings for this particular customer, when averaged across their fleet of almost 300 vehicles, amounts to around £500,000 of fuel consumption and more than 1,000,000 kg of CO2 annually.
A Bri-Stor Systems spokesman said: “Our innovative solution for sustainable energy in the tyre industry is more than a technological leap it’s a testament to our relentless pursuit of excellence.”
Bri-Stor Systems Ltd has entered the Innovation Award category of the Staffordshire University Business Awards.
Lewis Hackney and TRUUMAN
Innovation Award entrant
A former wealth manager and serial entrepreneur, Lewis Hackney has now turned his attention to men’s mental health and wellbeing.
Already the host of the TRUUMAN podcast which invites men to talk about mental health, masculinity and personal growth, the 32-year-old has created a business from what began as a passion project.
He has launched the TRUUMAN digital platform to address what he sees as ‘a pressing need’ among many men.
Alongside the podcast the platform includes an AI chatbot to offer personalised support and guidance to users, including tailored recommendations and insights based on individual needs and goals.
The aim is to reach men on a large scale and to make mental health resources and support accessible to all.
Lewis, who has a degree in financial mathematics, worked on the TRUUMAN concept while studying for the Peter Coates MSc in Entrepreneurship at Staffordshire University. He is now based in an office at the university.
He said: “I had the problem before I started the course but the MSc shaped it into what it is now. I had the podcast before but by completing the course I’ve positioned TRUUMAN into a business.”
In the autumn he secured a place on a venture-backed accelerator in Madrid to do further work on his business.
Lewis, from Congleton, is constantly innovating to find new ways for TRUUMAN to engage with men including interactive workshops, virtual events and social media campaigns to build a supportive community.
Lewis said: “TRUUMAN is a pioneering platform that leverages innovation to address the pressing needs of men’s mental health and well-being.
“Through our multifaceted approach, we have developed groundbreaking solutions that resonate with our audience and make a significant impact in the realm of personal development and self-discovery.”
Lewis has worked in wealth management across Europe, Asia and Australia, has worked as a foreign exchange broker and was an entrepreneur in residence in Spain.
He has entered TRUUMAN into the Innovation Award category of the Staffordshire University Business Awards.
Joe Ndilla and We Talk Care
Innovation Award entrant
As a founder of social care and training companies Joe Ndilla realised many of the carers he works with suffer from loneliness and isolation – so he has designed a tech solution to help them.
The 37-year-old, who employs a team of 10 staff in Burslem, has created We Talk Care – a social network for both paid and unpaid carers.
Joe’s digital platform works to address the mental health issues faced by carers by bringing them together and empowering them with resources.
We Talk Care already has 500 users following a soft launch in December and former NHS health care manager Joe is working on a Staffordshire pilot ahead of a national launch.
We Talk Care sits alongside Joe’s other two businesses, Nest Social Care and Ask Training.
Joe, who has a Staffordshire University degree in Applied IT, developed his social network project after joining the first cohort of the Peter Coates MSc in Entrepreneurship.
He said: “My work as an NHS manager and then working within my own two businesses showed me that there was a gap. My wife is also a carer and we both work in the care sector so we understand the impact that caring has.”
He added: “Our ethos revolves around providing ongoing support to caregivers at every stage of their journey. We Talk Care goes beyond being a digital meeting place; it is a comprehensive knowledge hub offering practical resources on various conditions.
“We are not only supporting caregivers of all ages but also fostering partnerships with local organisations that share our commitment to providing care and support to those facing life-changing diagnoses, creating a unified digital front.”
Joe has entered the Young Business Person of the Year and Alumni Business Person of the Year categories of the Staffordshire University Business Awards and has entered We Talk Care into the Innovation Award category.
Callidora
Innovation Award entrant
Homemade remedies that Maria Brown created for her own family are now helping other people with sensitive and eczema prone skin.
Maria, who has just completed her third Staffordshire University degree, launched skincare brand Callidora in 2023 while studying for the Peter Coates MSc in Entrepreneurship, holding down a full-time job in project management and raising her family.
She still personally handmakes all her products at home using her own carefully formulated recipes but now sells them through a website and at events.
“I do everything myself, from the initial concept to the end product,” said the 40-year-old, who has an undergraduate degree in Product Design and an MA in Creative Futures.
“Everything I sell is homemade by me rather than being bought from another manufacturer. It’s made with care, with love and with good intentions.
“I’ve dedicated a lot of time to working on the right formulas, initially with my own family’s needs in mind. I’ve tried different natural ingredients such as coconut oil, shea butter and mango butter and made sure that everything I make and sell is effective.”
It was only after joining the MSc course in January 2023 that Maria developed her skin products into a business and launched Callidora.
She’s now aiming to move production from her home to a commercial premises and to collaborate with other businesses.
Maria hopes to grow the business so that it can become her full-time job and she would like to recruit a team.
She has entered the Innovation Award, Alumni Business Person of the Year and Small Business of the Year categories of the Staffordshire University Business Awards.
Hayle Communications
Innovation Award entrant
A moling machine, capable of installing underground ducts and services quickly and efficiently, could create 500 new jobs when it goes into production according to its inventor.
Communications installations engineer Bill Mabey is trying to raise awareness of his electrically-powered device, which has been worked on by Staffordshire University students in two separate research projects.
He wants to put the machine into production through his company Hayle Communications and believes it will have a dramatic impact on the sector including significantly reducing the need for pothole repairs.
“Every year 77 cyclists die because of potholes,” said Bill. “We need to raise awareness of the moling machine. Every country needs this because it’s essential for improving services.”
The machine is electrically operated and fitted with a tracking system to enable accurate installations.
It is silent which means it is suitable for use in urban areas at night when traffic levels are low, avoiding costly trenching and reinstatement which can cause potholes. The moling machine is compact, transportable in a small van and eco friendly
Bill has been working with Staffordshire University students on a tracking system for the machine and on switching the machine’s power source from petrol to electric.
He has entered his moling machine into the Innovation Award category of the Staffordshire University Business Awards.
Vausages
Innovation Award entrant
When Zerline Long woke up from a vivid dream that she was serving vegan sausages at a festival her partner said ‘let’s do that’.
Six years later the couple’s business, Vausages, has become one of the country’s top vegan street food retailers. They sell their food at festivals, shows and events around the UK.
They make sausages from scratch using their own, unique recipe in a commercial kitchen at a factory unit in Cannock Chase after crowdfunding £30,000 to move production out of the kitchen at home.
Zerline and partner Reiss Seymour, both aged 26, are now working with food distributors to get Vausages into independent food chains, restaurants and cafes around the UK.
They had no previous experience of running a business when they began – just a shared passion for vegan food.
“It’s been a challenge from the get-go,” said Zerline. “We started off as two young people who just really liked food. We literally started off with a dream I had and worked from there.
“It was very difficult because we had no connections in this industry. We had to learn everything from scratch by ourselves.
“I was just working at a coffee shop at the time and Reiss was working for his dad. I knew we could do it and we just kept on going.
“We worked on our sausage recipe, which we still work on now, and went to market after market and festival after festival. It’s been quite a mad journey.”
Zerline and Reiss now have one permanent member of staff and have a team of around 15 people to work at events.
The couple’s USP is that they make their own sausages from scratch and use a wholefood, plant-based recipe including mushrooms and quinoa designed to avoid key allergens.
Zerline added: “A lot of street food businesses buy from wholesalers. We saw a gap in the market to do something different.”
Vausages has been entered for the Innovation Award category of the Staffordshire University Business Awards and Zerline and Reiss have jointly entered the Young Business Person of the Year category.
AiDenVi
Innovation Award entrant
Circuits designed by Alan Graham through his company Blackstick Ltd have gone to the deepest parts of the ocean and are currently orbiting Earth.
Largely self-taught after leaving school at the age of 14, Alan has been working at the cutting edge of design and technology since setting up his business 19 years ago.
Now Alan, from Leek, has turned his attention to AI and has partnered with Staffordshire University AI academics to launch a second business, AiDenVi.
AiDenVi is currently at the development stage and Alan, who is also studying for an MSc in Entrepreneurship at Staffordshire University, is hoping to roll out the first of his AI-driven tools to a group of beta testers by the end of March.
He said: “The ultimate dream is to have a complete AI-driven electronics design tool set, made in Stoke-on-Trent and sold to the world.
“The tools that are available now are fantastic, they’ve come a long way in a short space of time. But they are still lacking in useful automation. We know how to solve this. We know how to make it better.”
Having designed printed circuit boards for more than 25 years, Alan has always looked for better ways of working.
He said: “I have always been aware that the process had areas that needed to be improved. I started looking at AI six or seven years ago, thinking it could probably help. But the infrastructure and technology weren’t quite at the stage to be useful easily. They are now.
“Data shows that at the start of most designs, engineers are wasting between 10 and 20% of their time creating CAD models for their designs. This is quite a menial task that should, and can, be done instantly.
“Our tool enables engineers to ‘drag and drop’ datasheets, to instantly create these CAD models and their supporting information.”
“The feedback from the industry has been extremely positive, particularly from electronics design companies who see this as a boost in both engineering resources saved and time to market.”
“We have a lot of interest from PCB designers for our early beta program but would also like more electronic engineers to sign up.
“Having a more diverse talent pool using the tool at this stage will allow us to better tailor it for everybody’s needs.”
Alan has entered the Entrepreneur of the Year and Alumni Business Person categories of the Staffordshire University Business Awards and has entered his businesses into the Innovation Award category.
Therser UK
Innovation Award entrant
Already the UK’s largest kiln and furnace manufacturing company, Therser UK has now established itself as the country’s leading manufacturer of hydrogen kilns - a testament to its commitment to innovation and sustainable industrial practices.
The Burslem-based company was founded in 2009 and has a multi-million-pound turnover which it has a strategy to increase year-on-year for the next three years.
It manufactures industrial kilns, furnaces and dryers and is increasingly working on sustainably powered kilns.
A Therser spokesman said: “Our advanced technology in kiln design and production sets us apart, highlighting a significant shift towards environmentally friendly manufacturing processes.
“Therser UK’s expertise in hydrogen kiln technology not only reflects our leadership in the field but also aligns with the growing global emphasis on reducing carbon emissions in industrial operations.
“Our pioneering work in this area underscores the UK’s role in advancing green manufacturing technologies.”
The company’s management team has more than 150 years of accumulative experience in the thermal sector and deliberately chose to site the business in the very heart of the UK’s ceramics industry.
In addition to manufacturing new kilns and furnaces for customers Therser repairs, refurbishes and relocates specialist equipment. Its staff have relocated complete factories as well as individual industrial machinery units.
Therser UK has entered the Business of the Year and Innovation Award categories of the Staffordshire University Business Awards.