Happy Birthday, Beacon South West!
Beacon South West, an initiative that is dedicated to identifying and bringing together the region’s most successful companies, is celebrating its second birthday and also having secured another year’s funding worth £400,000 from the South West Regional Development Agency (RDA).
Over the last two years, 180 companies, with staff numbers ranging from 12 to 1,800, have joined the Beacon network. The most recent Beacon companies are Mulberry, the luxury leather goods brand, Epsilon Test Services, a pioneer in portable appliance testing, and Compact Power, a thermal recycling company.
These businesses join an increasingly eclectic and powerful cluster of businesses spanning breweries, manufacturers, leisure operators, architects, solicitors and consumer brands, such as Burts Potato Chips, GroBag, Briers and Aardman Animations. Across the network, Beacon companies are continually leading the way and promoting business excellence in the South West.
Supported by the South West RDA, Beacon South West was set up to help leading companies share best practice and ideas to boost the region’s economy. Beacon companies must be able to demonstrate outstanding achievement across a range of criteria, including innovation, performance, profitability, culture and business practices. They must be willing to share their knowledge, expertise and skills to benefit the economy of the region.
Sue Baker, director of Beacon South West, commented: “The Beacon South West programme has played an important role in building on and cultivating a culture of enterprise excellence in the region. It is a unique initiative where business leaders from extremely diverse sectors are able to draw on each other’s expertise and share ideas. Where else would you see the founder of playground equipment meeting regularly with the chief executive of a business telecommunications company? Or where would you find a senior manager of a regional airport liaise with an Oscar-winning animations company?
Sue Baker also commented on the regular Beacon Boardrooms which provide a safe haven for business leaders to discuss issues which are impacting on their business as well as share best practice and experience: “Issues as diverse as how to reduce energy costs and how to use the environment to add value to their brands, to how to access new global markets and develop skills have been debated and brainstormed in the Boardrooms. They have also become a critical mass and united voice that can drive forward change in conjunction with the South West RDA.
“Our hope is that over the next year, more companies will apply to join the Beacon network and that we will see more tangible outcomes from the Boardrooms such as fruitful business alliances and initiatives. We hope that Beacon companies will continue to lead the way in the South West, generating new ideas, innovating, and anticipating and building upon future trends.”
Rosemary Wells, director of Enterprise at South West RDA, said: “The South West RDA is committed to improving the region's economic success. It recognisesthat Beacon South West companies play an important role in this, through leading by example, imparting their knowledge and helping to foster a culture of enterprise throughout South West England. This is why we have committed to fund Beacon South West for another year.”
