Surface engineering firm gains business award

Edited by the Manufacturingtalk editorial team Nov 30, 2006

Hardide Coatings won the Small Business Award 2006 in the UK's Thames Valley Business Magazine Awards presented by Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne MP.

Hardide Coatings, the Oxfordshire, UK-based surface engineering company, won the Small Business Award 2006 in the Thames Valley Business Magazine Awards presented by Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne MP at a gala dinner at the Wentworth Club, Surrey on Thursday 23 November 2006.

The awards, which are in their 12th year, recognise the 'best of business' in the Thames Valley region.

Hardide won the Small Business Award which is open to companies with up to GBP 3 million turnover which are at least two years old.

The judges assessed turnover and profit; customer, supplier and employee relationships; planning and management of growth; and innovation and creativity.

Jim Murray-Smith, chief executive officer of Hardide commented: "We are proud to be based in the Thames Valley and attribute many aspects of our success to the support that we have received from the engineering, investment and business communities in the region.

The award is also testimony to the quality of people that we have been able to attract to a niche technology with global applications." Hardide develops and applies tungsten carbide coatings to a wide range of engineering components.

The patented technology uniquely combines abrasion and chemical resistance with flexibility and is revolutionising the way that tools and parts perform in the harshest of conditions.

The technology is proven to offer dramatic cost savings through reduced downtime and extended component life and is in use around the world in oil and gas, aerospace, valve, pump and high-end engineering applications.

The coating received approval from BAE Systems for use on components for the Eurofighter Typhoon earlier this year.

A commercial coatings facility has been operational in Bicester, Oxfordshire since 2003 and the company's first international coatings plant opened in Houston, Texas, USA, in September 2006.

Hardide plc (AIM:HDD) listed on London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in April 2005 and was this year listed number eight in Shares magazine's top 100 greatest growth stocks.