Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Courier Business Awards 2019: Our business of the year is revealed

A Fife-based timber company took home the top award at this year’s glittering Courier Business Awards ceremony.

James Donaldson & Sons was announced as Business of the Year at the black-tie event attended by more than 800 guests in Dundee.

The sixth generation family firm has grown from humble beginnings in Tayport in 1860 to be one of the UK’s largest timber firms.

Host Phill Jupitus on stage at the Apex Hotel.

The company, which has its headquarters in Glenrothes, had earlier won Family Business of the Year.

The award was presented by David Smith, managing partner of main event sponsors MHA Henderson Loggie.


For more coverage of the 2019 Courier Business Awards, see our special 16-page supplement on Monday


He said: “Our winner tonight is a heritage, family business which quietly but effectively goes about its business and is one of Courier Country’s largest and most important employers.

“Now a sixth generation family concern, our business of the year started in Tayport during the reign of Queen Victoria.

“It survived two World Wars, it celebrated its centenary before man walked on the moon and it has thrived during the digital revolution.

“As it prepares to mark its 160th anniversary in 2020, this business remains at the forefront of timber processing and secondary manufacturing in the UK.”

This year’s ceremony at the Apex City Quay Hotel was hosted by Never Mind The Buzzcocks star Phill Jupitus and Scots comedian Fred MacAulay.

A total of 24 awards were presented at the annual awards, which were being held for the seventh time.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney presented the night’s first award – a special Rising Star trophy to nine-year-old Amelia Milton, whose Smelleez soap company is about to go into its third year of trading.

Among the firms recognised were Balhousie Care Group which won the Growth category, NCR which triumphed in the Design & Innovation category and Baker Hughes which won the Manufacturing prize.

Nathan Pyne-Carter of ACE Aquatec won the coveted Entrepreneur of the Year award and V&A Dundee was recognised for the Tourism & Hospitality award.

Other winners included Elite Audio, J&D Wilkie Group, Konglomerate Games, Dover Fueling Solutions and Castle Water.

The final award of the evening – for Outstanding Contribution – was awarded to Perthshire businessman Morris Leslie whose interests include plant hire and vehicle auction businesses.

Presenting the award, DC Thomson Media’s head of newspapers Richard Neville said: “Our winner this year is a businessman who began his entrepreneurial journey 45 years ago when he established his own company on a Perthshire farm.

“His vision was to buy and sell construction equipment and, such was the success of that fledgling operation, the business soon expanded beyond local boundaries.

“In 1980, his company moved into the plant hire sector and the purchase of the disused Errol Airfield in 1988 prompted significant expansion into the plant auctioneering business.

“Under his steerage, his self-titled group went on to buy Perth Airport and turn it into a vibrant hub for business in the area.

“The plant hire and sale business’ national network has continued to expand in recent years and is now one of the largest construction equipment providers operating from 15 locations across the UK. The plant sales business trades globally trading with over 50 countries a year.

“However, our winner’s contribution does not end with his business success.

“A supporter of several charities, his unwavering backing for the Scottish Charity Air Ambulance – which is based at Perth Airport – has helped save lives across Scotland.”


Our winners

 

Apprentice of the Year

Jamie Craig

 

Design and Innovation

NCR

Digital

Miconex

 

Enterprise in Education

Konglomerate Games

 

Entrepreneur of the Year

Nathan Pyne-Carter

 

Export

Dover Fueling Solutions

 

Family

Perthshire: Crieff Hydro Hotel
Angus: J&D Wilkie Group
Fife and Overall: James Donaldson & Son
Dundee: Scott Brothers Butchers

 

Games

Hyper Luminal Games

 

Growth

Balhousie Care Group


Manufacturing

Baker Hughes

 

Retail

Assai Records

 

Rising Star

Amelia Milton, Smelleez

 

Science and Technology

ACE Aquatec

 

Service

Castle Water

 

Small

Elite Audio

 

Social Impact

Hillcrest Futures

 

Tourism and Hospitality

V&A Dundee

 

Young

TEXO Group

 

 

Business of the Year

James Donaldson & Sons

Oustanding Contribution

Morris Leslie