A SALFORD based manufacturing company with a big Irish connection has been awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade.
S+B UK Limited — which was previously Dutch-owned — celebrated the 10th anniversary of a management buyout this March, one which saw the company take on a distinctly Irish appeal.
Operations Director Craig Norris is a native of Derry in Northern Ireland, while Managing Director Mike Serridge has roots in Roscommon and Kerry.
S+B specialise in furnishing laboratories and educational institutions and recently fitted out the Forensic Science Laboratory in Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim.
They have also undertaken projects on behalf of universities in both Cork and Galway, but S+B’s reach extends far further than Ireland.
Due to the recent decline in student uptake of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects, S+B have sought to make STEM learning spaces more contemporary in design to help stimulate students in a subject they may not otherwise have taken to.
Out of this world: An example of an S+B learning space design.The designs are radical and have made some teachers nervous, but the response has been highly positive, particularly from schools overseas. The company has worked with international distributors in the United States, Nigeria, Cyprus, Malta, UAE, Hong Kong, Ghana and Vietnam.
Able to supply to each and every corner of the Earth from their own little pocket of Salford, S+B’s international reach clearly hasn’t gone unnoticed, having been recognised specifically for their contribution to international trade.
Speaking to The Irish Post, Managing Director Mike Serridge told of his elation at having been invited to Buckingham Palace earlier this summer to celebrate S+B’s shortlisting.
“I attended Buckingham Palace in July for the reception. I decided to take my good lady wife, and we had a very pleasant evening there.
“You weren’t allowed to take any pictures inside. They confiscate your iPads and your iPhones, but we did manage to get some together in the courtyard.
“The Queen was in attendance, as were other members of the Royal Family.
Royal treatment: Mike and his wife at Buckingham Palace in July.Mike and Craig’s story is one of hard work and endeavour, having both risen through the ranks of their company to take the reins themselves.
Craig joined the company as a summer worker some 20 years ago while studying at Manchester Metropolitan University. When he finished his degree he was employed as a trainee draughtsman. Today, he is a director.
“Craig and I were both employees,” explains Mike. “After seven or eight years the Dutch owners decided they couldn’t make things work, so they pulled out.
“It was then that we thought—well we’ll have a go. It’s a tough industry, but we’ve made steady progress in the last 10 years and it’s culminated in this award which is a blessing.”
The Lord Lieutenant of Manchester will be presenting the award at the S+B factory in Swinton on Thursday September 8. The Salford Deputy City Mayor and Deputy Ceremonial Mayor will be in attendance to mark the occasion.
See More: Queen's Award For Enterprise, S+B UK Limited
