Businesses in the region which are successfully exporting have the opportunity to showcase their achievements by entering the PD Ports Northern Powerhouse Export Awards - the deadline for nominations is Friday 31st January.

Established in 2016 by business advice service UMi, the awards aim to recognise the North’s top exporters and highlight their achievements in international trade, while also encouraging others to consider exporting for growth.

The awards will be held at Teesside International Airport in Tees Valley on 19th March 2020.

Previous winners include ExportExchange patrons Quality Bearings Online and Brandon Medical.

Nicki Clark, UMi chief executive, said: “UMi is all about helping business go further and this is a perfect example of how we do that - by celebrating the fantastic achievements of businesses whose horizons stretch beyond our own shores.”

Kirsten Donkin, head of PR, marketing and communications at event partners PD Ports, added: “As one of the UK’s major port groups headquartered in the North East, the only continuous net exporting region in the UK, we see the critical importance export plays in the vital growth of the economy.”

Leigh Briggs, regional director for Global Trade and Receivables Finance at event sponsor HSBC UK in the North, said: “For more than 150 years, we’ve been connecting the intrepid exporters of great British business with opportunities around the world to help them grow.”

The award categories are:
• E-commerce Exporter of the Year
• Most Entrepreneurial Exporter of the Year
• Micro Exporter of the Year (turnover less than £2m)
• New to Export (business of any age exporting for less than three years)
• Small Exporter of the Year (turnover £2m - £10m)
• Large Exporter of the year (turnover +£10m)
• Export Team of the Year
• High Growth Market Exporter of the Year
• Emerging Markets Exporter of the Year
• Overall PD Ports Northern Powerhouse Exporter of the Year

Event details, including how to nominate your business, book tickets and explore sponsorship opportunities, can be found at https://www.northernexportawards.co.uk/

The judging panel will be announced soon.