Strong and rapid progress has been recognised with Strait Drinks winning the Emerging Industry category in the CGU Launceston Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards 2007.
It follows a runners-up award in the New Exporter category in the 2006 competition.
Chairman of the judges Geoff Fader, said winners demonstrated quality in everything they did across their businesses.
"They show resilience and are willing to back their ideas. They demonstrate innovation and recognise that yesterday is past, consistently applying innovative thinking to assist in the growth of the business," he said. "They consistently review and have the courage to make the changes to market their business for the future." Strait Drinks managing director Philip Ridyard received the award and told an audience of 300 at the Grand Chancellor Hotel, Launceston, that it was recognition for a team effort that included employees, investors, customers, suppliers and advisors. "At the start of this project, there was probably only my wife Donna and myself who believed we would get it off the ground," he said. "It has been a long and tough journey but along the way we have been able to surround ourselves with hundreds of people who we now refer to as ‘Friends of Strait’ – those people who have had faith in the business, who have offered freely their expertise and experience, those who have been prepared to invest, those who buy our products because they are better than our competitors, and those who have spread the word about our success. "The Friends of Strait are true believers and I am glad to see so many here tonight. We share this award with them."
In the 18 months since Strait Drinks commenced production, the company has been recognised twice in the CGU-Launceston Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards; has earned two bronze medals in the International Wine and Spirits Competition; become the recipient of a $145,000 grant from the Beaconsfield Community Fund for the development of the business and jobs; extended its portfolio to seven products, and opened up several export markets across four continents. |
