Bedfordshire tech companies receive royal recognition with King’s Award

Two tech companies in Bedfordshire have received royal recognition for their work by receiving a King’s Award for Enterprise, the highest official UK award for British businesses.

• Biggleswade-based, Smith Myers, the global leader in cellular communications solutions, has been honoured with a King’s Award for Enterprise – Excellence in Innovation 2024.
• They join Verifile, who have been awarded a King’s Award for Enterprise – International Trade. This is the second of its kind for the Bedford-based company, having won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise – International Trade in 2019.

Smith Myers

Smith Myers’ ARTEMIS suite of Search and Rescue SAR systems are saving lives around the world, having recently been selected for several major UK, European and North American SAR and Coast Guard.

The system provides a new and mission-critical capability to aircrew/first responders being deployed around the world in maritime patrol, border control, aerial firefighting and natural disasters.

“This is truly a great honour and tribute to everyone at Smith Myers who have created an evolving and innovative life-saving suite of products,” said Peter Myers, co-founder and company director.

“In our 37th year in business, 35 of them in Biggleswade, we are delighted to have been recognised for Excellence in Innovation – the key driver of everything we do,”

“We’d also like to thank Les Ebdon and Nick Kier of the Bedfordshire Lord Lieutenant’s office for their guidance and advice regarding the application for the award.

“I’d recommend anyone thinking of applying to contact the Bedfordshire Lieutenancy for guidance and information.”

As an employee-owned company, Smith Myers says their success is down to a close-knit team of talented engineers and their “focus on applying cutting-edge technology to provide solutions for its customers”.

The company’s 37 years of collaboration with network operators, government agencies, law enforcement, military, and search and rescue organisations has solidified its position as a leader in innovative solutions.

They also continue to expand their product portfolio, including ground-based systems for use in mountain or water rescue or remotely operated vehicles.

“ARTEMIS is a perfect example of how our team applies industry-leading cellular technology to provide solutions to a real-world problem and, as the first system of its type, continues to lead the market worldwide,” added Andrew Munro, managing director

“Close work with our expanding customer base has seen several spirals of capability innovation already. Simply put, ARTEMIS saves more lives, faster.”

Verifile

HR technology company and leading provider of global employee screening and background checks for HR and talent acquisition, Verifile has been awarded the King’s Award for International Trade, in recognition of another period of outstanding growth.

Just five years after being recognised in the Queen’s Awards they’ve seen a 100% total growth in overseas sales across a three year period.

The company carries out hundreds of thousands of background checks every year for the UK government, as well as top private sector firms worldwide.

And this award marks what they’ve dubbed their “latest royal seal of approval” following the company’s Queen’s Award for Enterprise – International Trade, which they received in 2019.

Verifile says they have demonstrated significant growth in exports of their industry-leading background checks thanks to its ability to adapt to the ever-changing needs of the global employee fraud and security landscape.

Eyal Ben-Cohen, founder and CEO of Verifile, said: “Winning the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2019 was a huge honour for everyone at Verifile.

So, to now win a King’s Award for Enterprise five years later and extend our royal seal of approval is testament to our commitment to combatting fraud and improving the safety and security of businesses all over the world.

“Our screening solutions are relied upon by companies to protect their business operations, employees, and potential candidates and this is at the heart of everything we do at Verifile.

“We have been able to grow the business and deliver sustained eight years of growth in an extremely challenging economic climate, including a global pandemic and Brexit, so to be recognised for this achievement means a great deal to everyone at Verifile.”

The King’s Awards for Enterprise, previously known as The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, were renamed last year to reflect His Majesty The King’s desire to continue the legacy of HM Queen Elizabeth II, by recognising outstanding UK businesses.

The award programme, now in its 58th year, is the most prestigious business award in the country, with successful businesses able to use the esteemed King’s Award emblem for five years after receiving the award.

Nick Kier, Deputy Lieutenant and chair of the panel for The King’s Awards for Enterprise in Bedfordshire, praised both businesses for their significant achievements, with an additional nod to Verifile’s second win.

“In business terms, winning a King’s Award for Enterprise is the equivalent of winning an MBE, and so both Smith Myers and Verilfie really do deserve our congratulations for proving how important Bedfordshire businesses are to the UK economy.

“In order to apply for an award, let alone win, businesses need to show they really are deserving of the King’s recognition, so for Verfile to secure one for a second time is a considerable achievement, especially with today’s financial uncertainty”.

To find out more about the King’s Awards for Enterprise, visit the Lord Lieutenant’s dedicated pages for the awards.