A hairdresser who put her livelihood on the line to invest in a new product and a £16 million-turnover company with a high-tech alternative to brickwork have won this year's Best Business Innovation Awards.
Buddieguard, developed by hairdresser Tracey Budd from Solihull, won the pre-trading category and the Avon Dry-Wall Beam, from Southambased Alumet Systems, came top of the trading category.
Both were presented with their awards - which includes up to £7,000 of help and advice from commercialisation specialist Rowan - at a lunch at the White Swan hotel in Edgbaston.
Ms Budd, a hairdresser and hairdresser trainer, sold her salon in order to fund the development of her product which helps protect hairdressers and trainees avoid snipping their fingers when cutting hair.
Designed using a soft moulded plastic and thin wire mesh, the Buddieguard is still in prototype stage but Ms Budd hopes to finalise the design and launch the product at trade shows across the UK.
Ms Budd also holds the patent for hand protection for hairdressers, which the judges felt could open up a new market with the potential for a range of different products.
Chris Rattigan, managing director and chairman of the judging panel, said: "Buddie-guard is an excellent example of what we have been trying to achieve with this award.
"Innovation does not have to be about the latest technology developed in state-of-the-art labs - it is more about finding a way to do something faster, better or more effectively.
"Through her personal experience, Tracey saw a problem and then set about finding a solution.
"She has a great product and we're really looking forward to helping her make it a commercial success."
Tracey explained: "I was absolutley delighted to win, but I've always had faith in my product.
"A lot of people said I was very brave to sell my salon, but I was 100 per cent sure it was the right thing to do. I wanted to pursue a different avenue and this felt like the natural progression."
The Buddieguard is due to be unveiled at a hairdressing trade exhibition in London during October.
"There's a lot of research that has gone into it," Tracey added.
"I know exactly where hairdressers cut their fingers, through years of cutting my own and talking to colleagues and other people in the industry. It's an occupational hazard."
In the trading category construction materials firm Alumet Solutions stood out with their design for the light-weight, highlyinsulating Avon Dry-Wall Beam.
The company, which originally specialised only in aluminium window frames, developed the beam after becoming frustrated with the time it took to construct brick walls on new buildings.
The beam replaces this lengthy process, allowing a building facade to slot into place without the need for expansive scaffolding.
Judges felt the company, which used investment in research and development to diversify into new markets, was a fantastic example of companies using their expertise to succeed.
Alumet has also identified a number of new niche markets for the Avon Dry-Wall Beam which, the judges believed, had potential.
"This company is already an established innovator and is clearly demonstrating its commitment to keeping ahead of the game," said Mr Rattigan.
"The initial market feedback to their innovation has been very encouraging - but walking straight into another opportunity could either make or break the business.
"We will use our expertise to make sure they are able to take advantage of the right opportunities, and that they have access to the best experience to make sure they achieve commercial success."
Alumet's commercial manager, Neville Grunwald, was in no doubt the recognition would help his business.
"We're looking forward to working with Rowan and hopefully getting access to some people with the knowledge and experience to give us an edge in the market place.
"We've already got a potential order for our product.
"An earlier version of the Avon Dry Wall Beam was used on schools and hospitals, basically PFI jobs where they wanted construction completed quickly. One of our competitors saw the potential and developed their own product.
"Now, in our own small way, we've developed it further."
The development of both innovations will be followed by The Birmingham Post Enterprise page over the coming months. Mr Rattigan praised the finalists for their entries and said the Awards proved that innovation was alive and well in the Midlands.
"We have been delighted with the response to the awards and the calibre of the candidates has been fantastic, as has the wide range of industries represented," he said.
"It bears tremendous witness to the fact that innovation is going on in the Midlands.
"But so many excellent ideas fall by the wayside because people do not know which way to turn for help.
"We are pleased to be able to do our bit to support such great innovation."
