NECIT Services, which provides bespoke inspection services for engineering industries worldwide, has been awarded a prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade.
The South Shields-based company, run by husband-and-wife team Peter and Cherelle Lyons, carries out much of its work throughout the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
NECIT Services is among 205 organisations nationally to receive a Queen’s Award and one of just 122 recognised for its excellence in International Trade.
It has built an extensive global network involving more than 2,000 independent inspectors, auditors, and expeditors across mechanical, electrical, and protective coatings disciplines.
Operating across 75 counties, it is involved in all major engineering sectors, including oil and gas, renewables, power generation and specialist sector services.
Services include the provision of quality assurance and quality control, internal and external capability and quality management systems and supplier capability assessments. It also offers remote inspection and expediting capabilities.
The company employs 17 directly employed staff and aims to become a £20m turnover business by 2025 through a mixture of organic growth and acquisitions.
Managing director Cherelle Lyons said: “I think that we stood out by being a small family business that has remained true to our North East roots despite growing into a global leader in inspection, auditing and expediting services.
“The majority of our clients are based in the United States but the projects we work on are global. We hope that winning a Queen’s Award will help showcase the business and allow us to further expand in both North America and here in the UK.
“To see all our hard work recognised in this way is fantastic. It’s a proud moment, not just for Peter and me, but for everyone associated with NECIT Services.”
Peter Lyons, the company’s technical and business development director, is himself a qualified international welding engineer and senior quality inspector who launched the business in 2009.
He immediately set about building up a worldwide network of contacts in the energy sector, including other inspectors and engineers, but NECIT Services experienced a rapid growth in the wake of the 2015 downturn in oil and gas prices.
He added: “While other inspection services were cutting staff, I set about recruiting consultants and specialists to fill the void – taking us from a small family business to a global player.”
Now in its 55th year, the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise is the country’s most prestigious business awards, with winning businesses able to use the esteemed Queen’s Award emblem for the next five years.
Applications for Queen’s Awards for Enterprise 2022 open on 1st May 2021. For details visit www.gov.uk/queens-awards-for-enterprise