North East Company of the Year, Omega Plastics Group (OPG), is looking to a bright 2018 following a stellar year that has seen awards success and sales growth.
Having scooped the prestigious North East Company of the Year title at North East Business Awards grand final in April, the company, which operates factories in Washington, Hartlepool and Blyth, has enjoyed a spectacular 2017 and has seen order books overflowing with major new business wins working on behalf of blue chip organisations across the automotive, medical and FMCG sectors.
Its success on a regional scale also secured a nomination in the High Growth Business of the Year category at the highly sought-after Chamber Business Awards.
Organised by the British Chambers of Commerce, the national awards programme recognised the success of businesses large and small from across the UK.
OPG were finalists at the event held in London and despite not taking home the gong on the night, group managing director, Dave Crone, is confident that the experience will positively impact the business.
“2017 has been an outstanding year for the Omega Plastics Group and winning the Company of the Year title was a huge deal for us. The opportunities it has afforded us since have really helped us to take our business to the next level.
“I fully anticipate that the exposure the business has received as a result of being shortlisted at the Chamber Business Awards will be of real benefit going into the new year.
“OPG now has a national profile which will certainly help us to attract new business from larger organisations and companies operating across other regions of the UK.”
In addition to its success in the world of business, 2017 has also seen the Omega Plastics Group achieve great things in the corporate social responsibility arena.
In a bid to keep young, up-and-coming talent in the North East after leaving school, the company launched its own education programme in partnership with a Teesside secondary school in October.
Designed to create closer links between education and business and drive forward further curriculum development for STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects, the two-year vocational programme combines theoretical workshops with practical assignments and factory visits to help provide young people with a better understanding of the range of jobs available to them within the manufacturing sector, as well as tangible work experience that they can use to their advantage when job seeking in later life.
In recognition of the company’s hard work developing the programme, OPG was awarded the top prize in the Corporate Social Responsibility category at a regional business awards ceremony.
“We are passionate about education,” said Megan Carr, marketing and CSR manager.
“The students of today are our potential workforce of tomorrow, and we hope that through our education programme and various other school outreach projects that we are able to promote the manufacturing sector as a viable source of employment post-education to help ensure that our best young talent remains here in the region.”
Looking ahead to 2018, the company aims to continue on its current growth trajectory to expand the business further into its target markets.
“Building on the success of 2017, the future looks bright,” Dave Crone added.
“We had an incredible year and we will certainly look to build on this during 2018.”
To find out more about the Omega Plastics Group, visit www.omega-plastics.co.uk.