The last year has been an exciting time for us here at Van Guard. The Made in Britain accreditation, the ULTI Bar going from strength to strength and of course re-shoring our manufacturing back to the UK to name just a few highlights. On top of that we were also shortlisted for the Express & Echo’s Small Business of the Year Award.

To say that we were delighted was an understatement, as not only was it the most hotly contested of all the business awards, but we were also the only manufacturer to be listed across all of the categories. We truly were flying the flag for British manufacturing.

Barry, our MD, summed up our feelings perfectly: “We were thrilled to find out that we had been chosen as a finalist the Express & Echo’s Small Business of the Year Award. With substantial investment in our business over the last year we feel this is a great endorsement of our achievements to date. We have been storming ahead with our goals and an increase in sales has allowed us to expand manufacturing capabilities, which in turn has also allowed us to create more jobs, locally.”

The awards took place on 17th April at Sandy Park, home of the Exeter Chiefs. Dressed in our finest evening wear, we descended upon Sandy Park to see what the night had in store for us.

Unfortunately we did not win the overall prize this time, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening and we were delighted to have been chosen as finalists for our achievements over the past year.

2015 promises to be just as exciting as last year so watch this space!