Finalists unveiled for Express & Star Business Awards 2017

From FTSE-listed companies such as HomeServe and Marston's to new or micro businesses such as Wealth Design in Cannock and Compare Car Mods in Wolverhampton, they span every sector of commerce and industry and underline the strength and breadth of the local economy.

Express & Star Editor Keith Harrison said: "It seems that every year the quality of applicants for these awards just keeps getting better. It has been a terrifically hard task to whittle down the scores of applicants to the shortlist of 36 we are announcing today.

"Indeed, it is a testament to the high quality of the companies vying for these awards that three of the categories have had to be expanded from three finalists to four. The panels of judges - from both the Express & Star and from our sponsors – face a difficult task trying to pick the winners.

"In a very real sense, all the companies that we name as finalists today are winners in their own right. Simply making the shortlist of finalists says an enormous amount about them and about the quality of our business sector.

"In challenging times they provide solid reasons for optimism about the economic future of this country."

Each of the finalists will now go through a gruelling judging process involving the event sponsors – Our warmest thanks go Aspray24, Carvers Building Supplies, Higgs & Sons, BDO, Jaguar Land Rover, City of Wolverhampton Council, UTC Aerospace Systems, ArchOver, Altodigital and the Black Country Chamber of Commerce The Platinum Group – before the winners are announced at the Express & Star Business Awards evening at Wolverhampton Racecourse on Thursday, June 8.

The finalists are:

Best Place to Work: Commercial Express, Brierley Hill; FBC Manby Bowdler LLP, Wolverhampton; HomeServe Membership, Walsall; The West Brom

Best Use of Technology: Dudley Building Society, Brierley Hill; MTI Welding Technologies Ltd, Kingswinford; Serveline IT Ltd, Kinver

Community Champion: Carver (Wolverhampton) Ltd; JJX Logistics, Kingswinford; SPV Group, Aldridge

Customer Service Champion: Nant Ltd, Bilston; River Canal Rescue, Stafford; STK Fire and Risk Management Ltd, Wolverhampton

Growth & Innovation Award: A M Griffiths & Son Ltd, Wolverhampton; Lion Containers Ltd, Cannock; MTI Welding Technologies, Kingswinford

Manufacturing Champion: A&M EDM, Smethwick; Petford Tools, Dudley; Roadlink International, Willenhall

Micro Business of the Year: ELM Medical, Stafford; Top Marques Insurance, Brownhills; Wealth Design Ltd, Cannock

Small to Medium Sized Business of the Year: 1st Access UK Ltd, Willenhall; BCRS Business Loans Ltd, Wolverhampton; Bond Wolfe, West Bromwich; Commercial Express, Brierley Hill

Young Business of the Year: Compare Car Mods, Wolverhampton; Little Dessert Shop Ltd, Wolverhampton; Wealth Design Ltd, Cannock

Business Person of the Year: Kim Carr, FBC Manby Bowdler LLP, Wolverhampton; Henry Carver, Carver, Wolverhampton; Ralph Findlay, Marston’s Plc, Wolverhampton; Adrian Jackson, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Business of the Year: HomeServe Membership, Walsall; Marston’s Beer Company, Wolverhampton; Pallet Track Ltd, Wolverhampton