The Big Phone Store celebrates technician's win at the Gadget Repair Expo in the USA

A technician at The Big Phone Store in Wolverhampton has brought home another accolade for the award-winning business which was recently named among the best places to work.

Lead technician Sunil Shrestha won the microsoldering competition at the Gadget Repair Expo in the United States - an international event attended by some of the most skilled repair technicians and refurbishment specialists in the industry.

Microsoldering - one of the highest-level technical disciplines in electronics repair - involves repairing microscopic components directly on device motherboards using specialist tools, microscopes and precision soldering equipment.

The work is extremely intricate, often involving components smaller than a grain of rice, and requires years of training, technical understanding and hand precision.

The competition, held in Atlantic City, New Jersey, tests technicians under pressure on speed, accuracy, fault diagnosis and repair quality, with competitors challenged to complete highly technical board-level repairs in front of a live audience and judging panel.

Steve Athwal, founder and CEO of The Big Phone Store, said of the award win: “We are incredibly proud to see one of our lead technicians win an international microsoldering competition at the Gadget Repair Expo in the United States, it’s the first time anyone from outside North America has won it.

“It is a huge personal achievement and a proud moment for The Big Phone Store, showing the level of technical skill behind quality refurbishment, repair and keeping devices in use for longer.”

The company, based on Wednesfield Business Park, has also just been named on The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2026 list.

Established in 1999, the business was praised for its workplace culture. Boasting 49 employees from more than 20 countries, it puts a strong focus on perks that promote wellbeing including regular ‘check-ins’, on-the-job development and team outings. Staff report great job satisfaction and they enjoy 28 days of annual leave - plus bank holidays and birthdays - with extra days added for years of service.

CEO Steve said: “This achievement is a real reflection of the great team we have built and the culture everyone contributes to every day.

“No business succeeds because of one person. It takes a team, and without the people and the culture we have created together, achievements like this would not be possible.”

Operations director Lydia McGann added: “This recognition means a lot because it reflects the people behind the company and the environment we’ve worked hard to build together.”

The Big Phone Store also picked up two awards at the Express & Star Business Awards 2026, held last Thursday at The Halls Wolverhampton.

The business went home with awards for Sustainability for its work promoting gadget refurbishment and re-use and for Growth and Innovation for its AI innovations which have been helping to grow the business, which sold more than 80,000 refurbished devices in 2025 and saw annual turnover soar from £3.4 million in 2022/23 to more than £5.6 million in 2024/25.

The Big Phone Store’s trade-in service uses an AI-supported, fault-specific pricing model which provides accurate valuations upfront, virtually eliminating the industry problem of downgrades - with 99.8 per cent of customers receiving the full quoted amount, revaluations falling by 80 per cent, and 20,000 devices entering the circular economy.

The company also uses AI across its intake, diagnostics and fulfilment processes; and future innovation includes a customer-facing app to allow pre-testing of devices, moving beyond subjective grading.

The business also won the ‘Best Customer Service - Consumer’ award at the Mobile News Awards 2026 - the UK’s longest-running telecoms awards programme - in March, having fought off competition from industry heavyweights EE, Lebara and Fonehouse.