Gaining the Royal Seal of Approval
After months of excitement, anticipation and preparation, we were finally presented with our 2016 Queen’s Award for Enterprise in a ceremony at our head office in Fareham. The event was attended by the Lord-Lieutenant of Hampshire, on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen, the Deputy-Lieutenant, the Mayor of Fareham and all members of Captec staff.
We won the award in the Enterprise category for International Trade and Development. The areas entrants were judged upon included outstanding international trade results, a positive business impact upon society and strong relations with all business stakeholders including employees, customers and suppliers. To be recognised as worthy winners in these disciplines is a fitting testament to the collective efforts we put in as a company to ensure we provide services above and beyond what is required.
Having been notified of our victory earlier in the year, and being able to announce the success to our staff and the world, we have been eagerly awaiting the formal presentation of the Award. Midway through the morning, the Deputy Lord-Lieutenant of Hampshire, Andrew Kent Esq., arrived to be greeted by our Founder and CEO, Max Toti. Mr Kent was then followed by the The Mayor of Fareham, Cllr Mrs Connie Hockley, and finally the Lord-Lieutenant of Hampshire, Nigel Atkinson Esq.
The guests were introduced to members of our senior management, and provided with a comprehensive tour of the company facilities before heading to the presentation room to be joined by the remainder of the Captec staff. Proceedings were commenced by Max who spoke on behalf of the company to explain what an honour it was to be named as winners on Her Majesty the Queen’s 90th birthday, and 60th year on the throne.
The Lord-Lieutenant then took to the stage, congratulating us on our growth from a one-man operation in 1985 to a company with a workforce of over 100 now in 2016. He reserved exceptional praise for our ability to engineer specialist computer platforms that operate reliably in the most challenging environments, enabling the critical applications of our customers to function without disruption. Mr Atkinson also paid tribute to the other 48 winners of the Queen’s Award in the South-East, stating that he hoped these successes had inspired businesses in the region to enter the Queen’s Awards.
The Citation and Grant of Appointment were then read out to attendees by the Deputy-Lieutenant, before being presented to Max to a rapturous round of applause from attendees. Closing the ceremony, and before guests were treated to a celebratory champagne lunch, the Mayor of Fareham, Cllr Mrs Connie Hockley, was invited to speak on behalf of the town. She said it was an honour and a privilege to have been invited to the event, and congratulated us on what she felt was a very justified award. Cllr Hockley told the audience she was blown away by the premises and the work that we do, and promised to spread the Captec word to all that she spoke to.
As part of the Queen’s Award success, Max was also invited to attend the Buckingham Palace Reception on 14th July. It was an event organised for all the 2016 winning companies, personally hosted by Her Majesty.
The event topped off what is a significant achievement for us as a business. But our hunger for success does not stop there. Having already found success with an Enterprise award, we have set out our intentions to win the Awards in the two remaining categories, with an Innovation ambition placed high on our agenda.
We have already formalised our entry into the Sustainable Development category, an area the company is extremely passionate about and goes to great lengths to realise. We operate strict and effective environmental policies, and have recently installed 600 solar panels as part of our aim to be energy self sufficient and carbon neutral.
You can learn more about the Queen’s Award and the reasons behind our success here.