‘Time to think about future’

That’s the view of Bob Adams, chairman and managing director of Milton Keynes-based adhesives manufacturer Beardow Adams.

Mr Adams and his colleagues have built Beardow Adams, in Bradville, into one of the top five adhesives producers in Europe over the last 30 years.

Mr Adams and his team have real sticking power when it comes to support for the Milton Keynes & North Bucks Chamber of Commerce-organised awards. This year the 90-strong company is sponsoring the Business of the Year Award for companies with sales less than £1m.

Mr Adams said: “As a successful business which started in Milton Keynes over 30 years ago, we know how much encouragement winning an award gives to the owners of a company, their staff, customers and suppliers, when an independent panel recognises the effort they have put in to making their business better and more successful.

“Every business needs encouragement and a pat on the back for doing well – and for a small business, winning the Business of the Year Award gives them the opportunity to show publicly how well they are doing.”

Mr Adams added that businesses should never assume other companies are automatically better and, secondly, it’s amazing what you can learn from entering.

He added: “Three of the four questions you are required to answer will make you think about your business in some detail – just the very thing that is too easily put to one side under the day-to-day pressure of running a business.

“It’s by having to think about these issues – of course in running a business there are many others – that we have grown, largely organically.”

Beardow Adams makes hot melt adhesives used in bonding paper, board, wood, plastics, rubber and metal.

The company has itself won six Milton Keynes Chamber of Commerce awards to date and four Queen’s Awards for Enterprise.

Beardow Adams sells its adhesives to some 2,000 companies in over 50 major industrialised countries, where its hot melts have widespread use in packaging and in the automotive, electronics, print finishing, furniture manufacture and domestic appliance industries.

> To enter the awards, visit www.mk-chamber.co.uk.

> To sponsor the awards, phone Helen Horwood, the chamber’s operations director on 01908 259002 or email [email protected]