Express & Star Business Awards 2016: Ready to celebrate with the best

At the start of this year I predicted that the 2016 Express & Star Business Awards were on track to be the biggest and best yet. It's nice to have been proved right.

Our teams of judges have all been coming back from site visits singing the praises of our finalists.

I cannot remember a year when we have seen and heard a response like it.

See the list of finalists here

Judging between the companies and organisations that make it to our list of awards finalists is never an easy task, but this year has been particularly memorable. Teams of judges have returned from their visits to the finalists and had to spend hours debating.

One team came back claiming that each one of the finalists they had seen could have been the winner in their category in any other year.

It is a testament to the strength of the businesses operating in our area, large or small.

And it is a matter of huge pride that we at the Express & Star can act as a platform for these companies, bringing their stories to a wider public. For their success and their quality should be a matter of pride for everyone in our area, not just their employees, customers and suppliers.

The Black Country and Staffordshire have always been areas where things got done; where products were made and businesses were built, along with the communities that supported them.

Industry is as much a part of the fabric of our area as the coal that was once mined here.

While industries such as coal mining may have become part of our treasured history, the grit, determination, know-how and entrepreneurial spirit that created them is still alive and well in each and every one of the finalist companies you will meet in the following pages.

They have been whittled down from scores of entries and each has undergone a forensic examination from our judges, made up of senior members of the management team at the MNA – publishers of the Express & Star – and from each of our sponsor companies. And I would like to take this opportunity to again thank our sponsors – Altodigital, ArchOver, Aspray24, BDO, Carvers Building Supplies, Higgs & Sons, Jaguar Land Rover, City of Wolverhampton Council, UTC Aerospace Systems and the University of Wolverhampton – for their loyalty and support. Without them these awards would be an impossibility.

It is worth noting that two of our sponsors – Jaguar Land Rover and the University of Wolverhampton – have taken the courageous step of becoming competitors as well this year. That two such impressive organisations should find value in taking part in these awards says much for their confidence in themselves – confidence clearly justified by their appearance in our shortlist of finalists. They face very tough competition indeed.

I would also like to thank our supporters at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, who are sponsoring the drinks reception at this Thursday's awards night at Wolverhampton Racecourse, Star Employment Services and Yarrington, who will be producing the event.

Despite the challenges the region has faced, our finalists are proof that there are some good news stories out there and this is our opportunity to celebrate those good news stories.

Whether it is small family firms or large multi-national operations, our area can boast the very best businesses operating in every sector of the commercial world, from skilled home assistance firms and those working in ultra-specialist field of travel for film companies to traditional engineers and cutting-edge developers of groundbreaking new software or technology. From those employing hundreds of workers at sites across the UK and overseas, to those with just a dedicated handful in one of the small offices or industrial units across the area, all of these businesses are playing a vital role in the return to growth of UK plc.

Across the 11 awards this year there are 34 finalists and, while only one company will be selected as the ultimate victor in each category, every single business profiled in these pages today is a winner.

Their very existence underlines the can-do attitude that has made this region a commercial powerhouse since the very earliest days of the Industrial Revolution.

Alongside that hard-working attitude our area can boast an equally impressive spirit of generosity, and I know that those attending this week's awards ceremony will dig deep for our chosen charity for the night: the Acorns Children's Hospice at Walsall. Their work providing a network of care and support to life-limited and life-threatened children and their families deserves all the support we can provide.

All that remains now is to discover who the winners of our awards will be. I am sure that the glittering black tie dinner on Thursday night will be a fitting culmination to the months of work that have gone into these awards and I look forward to celebrating with you all.