News: Meet the Finalists - Business of the Year

Over the coming days, Maritime UK will be profiling each of the finalists in this year’s Maritime UK Awards. Winners will be announced on 10 March, live from the Glasgow Science Centre. Registration is open here. 

Aberdeen Harbour Board are the proud sponsors of the Business of the Year category.  

Open to businesses of any size, this award will be made to a business that has demonstrated a real understanding of its target market and positioned or adapted itself accordingly, showing impressive growth/growth potential, and sustainability in terms of one or more of the following: job creation; turnover and/or national/international impact. 

Aberdeen Harbour is principal port servicing the UK North Sea offshore oil and gas industry. It handles a wide range of ships supporting the industry including platform supply vessels, dive support vessels, anchor handling tugs, survey vessels and emergency response vessels. Each year they handle over 4 million tonnes of cargo, 170,000 passengers and 9,489 vessels. 

Highly respected experts from a variety of businesses and government departments were involved in the judging panel for this year’s Maritime UK Awards, which celebrate the achievements of the UK’s maritime sector, which adds £46.1bn to the UK economy every year, and supports 1.1 million jobs. 

Three strong entries have been shortlisted for Business of the Year Category: PD Ports, Expleo and Babcock LGE. 

PD Ports

PD Ports and headquartered in the Tees Valley and operates from 12 key ports and logistics centres across the country to keep vital supply chains moving. Owners and operators of Teesport, the fifth largest port in the UK and the only major port in England to handle more imports than exports, PD Ports employs over 1,300 people nationwide whilst also operating one of the most ambitious apprenticeship programmes in the maritime industry as part of its ongoing commitment to supporting the next generation. With an ethos built on creating trusted, long-lasting partnerships that allow us to understand customers and their unique requirements, PD Ports aims to be a seamless extension of any business, providing in-depth knowledge and time-served experience to improve supply chains. 

Exlpeo

Expleo is a global engineering, technology and consulting service provider that partners with leading organisations to guide them through their business transformation, helping them achieve operational excellence and future-proof their businesses. Expleo benefits from more than 40 years of experience developing complex products, optimising manufacturing processes, and ensuring the quality of information systems. Leveraging its deep sector knowledge and wide-ranging expertise in fields including AI engineering, digitalisation, hyper-automation, cybersecurity and data science, the group’s mission is to fast-track innovation through each step of the value chain. As a responsible and diverse organisation, Expleo is committed to doing business with integrity and working towards a more sustainable and secure society. Expleo boasts an extensive global footprint, powered by 15,000 highly-skilled experts delivering value in 30 countries. 

Babcock LGE

With a proven track record in developing market leading, innovative technologies for the processing, handling and storage of liquefied gas, Babcock is forging a world of opportunity for international shipyards and shipowners. Through expert engineering, procurement, project management and aftermarket support – combined with world-leading technologies – Babcock LGE future-proofs our customers’ assets, allowing improved performance while reducing operational costs and meeting ever-tightening environmental and emission regulations.

Sarah Kenny, Chair of Maritime UK, said: 

“We’re delighted to announce the finalists for the Maritime UK Awards 2022. We were absolutely blown away by the number and quality of submissions this year. Organisations and individuals across the breadth of the maritime sector are making significant progress toward our shared Maritime 2050 ambitions, and this is certainly an exciting time to be in the maritime sector. 

“Maritime is a sector that is now being recognised as critical to the country’s prosperity, sustainability, resilience and future. We’re a sector that makes a significant contribution to each and every part of the United Kingdom, and Glasgow is no exception. In Glasgow and Scotland as a whole, we have an incredibly compelling maritime proposition as the UK’s second-largest cluster. It offers Europe’s largest ship management cluster, world class naval ship design, build and support, globally recognised support to offshore energy operations, world-class nautical training and maritime universities and academics. 

“Congratulations to everyone that entered the awards, and in particular to our finalists. I look forward to celebrating our tremendous maritime sector in Glasgow!” 

The 2022 Maritime UK Awards are being hosted at the Glasgow Science Centre on 10 March. To book your place click here.