Trethowans Excellence Through Innovation Award

Innovation is key to boosting turnover and profitability, playing a vital role in the success of many of the world’s leading businesses, from exploiting fresh ideas and launching new products to finding new ways to cut costs and increase productivity.

The business grasping this will be best poised to take advantage of the economic upswing when it arrives.

The Trethowans Excellence Through Innovation Award will showcase the region’s most innovative firms.

Judges have been looking for a company with a creative and different way of working, not only to keep ahead of the competition but also to keep them fresh and responsive to customer needs.

The sponsors are leading law firm Trethowans, who are based in Southampton and Salisbury, and employ more than 140 people across their two sites.

Paul Longman, from Trethowans LLP, who is judging the category, said: “The number of high-quality entrants for this category highlights how innovative the south coast business community is.

“As the judge, my job has been very difficult.

“Our finalists have demonstrated commercially-focused innovation that is helping to not only deliver what their customers want, but also helping their business succeed.”

BLUESTAR runs inter-urban and commuter buses in the Southampton, Eastleigh, Winchester, Romsey and Waterside areas.

To speed up boarding times and to keep as much cash off the bus has been its goal.

In February 2012 it launched its award-winning smartcard – the key – but it didn’t stop there.

In September 2012 their smartphone app was launched as another way to pay for bus travel.

The app is a more convenient way to buy your bus tickets and it is instant.

The phone becomes your bus ticket – simply buy, show and go. The largest percentage of bus users are 16-24 year olds who are very tech-savvy.

If they are using their phones for everything, why not their bus ticket too?

GEMMA Lighting Limited was established to create an innovative concept for solid state lighting equipment, increasing energy efficiency and lighting quality.

Drawing on vast experience of LED technology since 2003, the engineering team at Gemma Lighting have been designing, developing and manufacturing a new generation of LED lighting
solutions for numerous applications, both internal and external.

From its UK manufacturing facility in Portsmouth, Gemma Lighting’s products incorporate the very latest in efficient Light Emitting Diodes (LED) technology.

Their LED lighting solutions are efficient, robust and clear which helps with environmental issues such as the reduction in energy consumption, carbon emissions and light pollution.

OPENED in 1928, The Mayflower Theatre has long been at the centre of Southampton’s cultural life attracting people from all walks of life.

But this year the theatre decided to reach out to an even wider audience. Having approached the Hampshire Autistic Society, it came up with a way of adapting its performance for people
with the condition.

The challenge was to overcome difficulties they experience, which includes sensory overload and the involuntary need to create noises and erratic movements.

So it decided to create a “relaxed” performance of its pantomime, Jack and Beanstalk.

Changes were made to the lighting, sound and special effects dampening the sensory overload without compromising quality as well as adding space for 21 wheel chair users.

The show sold out, with an electrifying and moving audience reaction.

UNDERWATER vehicles are expected to work in the most hostile environments on the planet, offshore, under ice and down deep tunnels.

An innovation that lets them think for themselves is set to transform undersea operations, along with a Technology Toolbox that creates a core technology across all products.

Creating this is Saab Seaeye, the world’s largest manufacturer of electric underwater vehicles whose markets include offshore energy, defence forces, marine science and hydro-engineering.

The company exports more than 80 per cent of turnover and has doubled its engineering and production operations, expanding into a second 24,000 sq ft facility.

Founded in 1986, the company has won an international reputation for pioneering technology.