Winner: AGR Racking Ltd

The team behind the district’s best new business shouldn’t have a problem displaying their new award, as they manufacture bespoke storage and display racks.

And they said the award vindicated their decision to dive in and set up their own company, despite tough trading conditions brought on by the global recession.

AGR Racking Ltd, based in Keighley, is a specialist fabrication engineering company designing, developing, manufacturing and fitting bespoke storage and display racking solutions for the warehousing, storage and distrubution industry.

It sells its products, mainly through merchants, to businesses throughout the UK.

Co-directors Robert Worsley, Gavin Carter and Allan Barker accepted the award together.

Robert said: “We are over the moon we have won. We were nominated for this and we didn’t think we would have a chance, there were so many good people in it.

“We are absolutely delighted.”

Allan said: “We have put a lot of hard work in and it’s good that people looking in from outside think it is a good business. It’s getting a lot of interest.

“It means a lot knowing there were other people out there, looking at our business thinking, ‘That’s a good business model’.”

Robert added: “People around us thought that to start a company up in this climate was not a good idea, but we have proved them wrong.

“We are actually helping other companies in Yorkshire because we buy local. We produce with British steel and British goods, that’s what we use. We are not an importer.”

Highly commended: Chicago Brand UK and Hand Made In Bradford

Award sponsored by Appleyard Jaguar