UK Excellence Business Awards

As Founder Sponsors of the British Quality Foundation, Catalyst hosted a table at the prestigious UK Business Excellence Awards on Wednesday 25 October. We have a strong reputation in this area, having supported several European Quality Award winners, including Yell and Volvo Cars.

Joining us for the evening at our table were representatives from Catalyst clients - BAA, BT, O2, the Financial Ombudsman, Rolls-Royce, RS, and the Royal Mail. It was an excellent evening with guest of honour HRH the Princess Royal presenting the three winners, Siemens Medical Solutions (another of our clients), TNT, and St Anne's Primary School. And our clients also featured as prize winners, in the shape of Capita and Manx Mobile, a subsidiary of O2.

St Anne’s is a primary school with 540 pupils between four and eleven years old, including special needs children. The school is very innovative in its teaching methods and in providing new ways of dealing with children with special needs. For example, children from the impaired hearing unit are integrated into classes with other children, so encouraging respect and care for pupils with special needs.

Siemens Medical Solutions sells and services diagnostic imaging and therapy systems in the UK healthcare sector which includes NHS trusts, private hospitals and other independent healthcare providers. The company is highly innovative using technological and process innovation to enable healthcare providers to improve the quality and efficiency of their diagnostic and therapeutic work.

The TNT International Business Unit is part of the TNT Express Group. One of their challenges is to align 45 countries, cultures and languages with a common set of standards and objectives which they do very effectively. The leadership of the managing director and the senior management team is exceptional and employees have a high degree of personal making them able and willing to go the extra mile for their customers.

Recognised as the toughest and most prestigious business awards, previous winners of the UK Business Excellence Award include big names such as Ricoh, Rolls-Royce, Siemens Automation and Drives and United Utilities, as well as a number of small organisations and schools. Commenting on the 2006 winners, Joe Goasdoué, Chief Executive of the British Quality Foundation, said:

‘The UK Business Excellence Award is given only after the most rigorous assessment processes in the business world today, and this year’s winners are proof that the UK produces world-class companies. They also demonstrate that effective deployment of the EFQM Excellence Model delivers exceptional business results.’