Craig Group wins Northern Star Internationalisation Award
Aberdeen-based shipping and global energy services company The Craig Group saw its outstanding overseas growth recognised at the third Northern Star Business Awards, held at a sell-out presentation dinner at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre on 28 September 2006.
Led by chairman of judging Doug Richards (of “Dragons’ Den” television fame), the awards panel recognised the achievement of the £100 million turnover group in increasing turnover by 37% and employment by 49% through its strategic international business growth.
The Group’s international success was attributed by the judging panel to its commitment to “thinking global, acting local”, its sensitivity to local business cultures and its willingness to take calculated risks.
The Craig Group now employs 1500 people and ranks as one of Scotland’s top 100 companies. From its origins as a fishing company founded in 1933, it has successfully diversified into oil and gas service provision, initially through the deployment of North Sea standby vessels between 1975 and 1990.
Today the group encompasses nine specialist divisions, with services in standby vessel provision, offshore catering and oilfield procurement through to subsea survey equipment, mooring systems and chain inspection and certification.
Bold international objectives
The Craig Group now operates from twelve international operations bases, and in the last year alone has successfully broken into new markets in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Sakhalin Island, Libya, Turkey, Chad, Turkmenistan and Yemen.
The Craig Group has been particularly successful in West Africa, Norway and the Gulf of Mexico, with subsidiary company subsea seismic specialist Seatronics especially active in post-hurricane Katrina remedial work.
The company has set itself the bold objective of increasing overseas turnover by 30% year-on-year, with key markets identified in Africa, the Caspian, the Gulf of Mexico and the Far East.
Managing director Douglas Craig (pictured right) accepted the company’s Achievement in Internationalisation Award (sponsored by ASA International) at the Northern Star dinner from television newsreader Mary Nightingale, and confirmed his delight at winning what is already, after only three years, viewed as the most prestigious business awards in the North East business calendar.
“Although we have had the good fortune to triumph in other business awards, including the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, there is something special about gaining recognition among your peers,” he said.
“The Northern Star awards are already a superb showcase for the entrepreneurial flair which is currently so much in evidence in many business sectors in Aberdeen city and Aberdeenshire, and I am sure they will continue to go from strength to strength.”
Thinking global
Douglas Craig also had some sage advice to share with aspiring internationalists.
“Never rest on your laurels. The Craig Group is now successfully operating in the key energy markets of the world because our growth strategy is centred upon consistently identifying new opportunities around the globe.
“The entrepreneurial culture and competitive local market in the North East generate challenges upon which companies like the Craig Group can thrive. The North East’s mature energy sector is also an ideal platform upon which we can successfully develop into new markets worldwide.
“We mark success in events like the Northern Star Awards by ensuring that everyone with the company who is involved in that success gets the recognition he or she deserves. Our achievements - whether in Aberdeen or our bases around the world - are about our people.”
The Northern Star Business Awards are organised by Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, and are sponsored by the University of Aberdeen in association with McGrigors, Aberdeen Harbour and Mearns and Gill.
Click here to visit The Craig Group website.
Click here for more about the Northern Star Business Awards.
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