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Andy Thorne is Honoured to Meet HM Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.
This outstanding achievement was celebrated at the prestigious reception hosted at Buckingham Palace. Andy Thorne attended along with Nicola Gilbert, and words fail to express the honour this represents.
To be received in such grandeur and to have the opportunity of a lifetime to enter the Palace as a guest, and be presented to HM The Queen, and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is a phenomenal achievement. All attendees were individually introduced at the start of the evening, and during the evening HM Queen Elizabeth circulated and greeted guests, taking time to talk to them about their companies and the categories that they had been successful in.
The Reception was attended by the achievers of the Queen’s Award across all categories – Innovation, Sustainable Development, Enterprise and International Trade. Approximately 11,000 companies start this process, and were whittled down to a shortlist of approximately 1200, with 95 companies being successful.
Business Secretary Vince Cable was in attendance and said, quote, “I want to see a whole new generation of entrepreneurs”, which echoes the philosophy of all those present and their achievements regardless of category.
Kestrel is hugely supportive of these Awards and the benefits that they bring to one’s company. Especially for a relatively young company in shipping terms, this Award is a true testament to the strength of the company and acts as an extremely strong recommendation to any business or individual considering dealing with us. It has already been instrumental in bringing on board many large new corporate accounts, who feel that the due to the incredibly stringent demands that The Queen’s Award’s Office require, that Kestrel is the Only company for them to work with because it so thoroughly endorses all aspects of a quality company.
Much has happened since the Award was first announced, not least an increasing bond between the Parliamentary Select Committee with responsibility for the Commonwealth Countries, as led by MP Andrew Rosindell. The value of commercial knowledge in these areas, combined with the Governmental knowledge required to set policy and lead the way to a stronger future is clearly an opportunity that will benefit the members of the Commonwealth Countries Kestrel is so heavily involved in. Again, this is an example of the strength of Kestrel’s Corporate Responsibility to the areas where it trades.
If anyone has any queries about the Queen’s Award please contact Nicki Gilbert on Tel +44 7917 094752 or ngilbert@kestrel-liner.com
National Business Awards finalists announced - July 28th, 2010
~ Shortlisted entries demonstrate energy, bravery and determination ~
Over 150 of the UK’s most innovative and resilient public and private sector businesses have been announced today, Wednesday 28th July, as finalists in the National Business Awards in partnership with Orange. Organisations shortlisted this year range from the well-known – Unilever, Camelot, Marks & Spencer, American Express, Coca Cola, The Co-Operative Group and Kwik Fit – through to the rising stars of Ella’s Kitchen, Freesat, Coffee Nation, Naked Wines, and Cheapflights.
“Orange has sponsored the National Business Awards for the past nine years and I am delighted that the calibre of entrants keeps on improving. It's been a tough couple of years for business but the UK's organisations have not let this stop them from delivering success. I'd like to congratulate all the finalists for being a real inspiration for what is possible in business”, said Martin Stiven, Vice President, Orange UK.
The total number of organisations entering the National Business Awards in 2010 increased by over 40 percent compared to last year despite the challenging market conditions. From eco breweries to family-run medical recruitment companies, the diversity of the finalists is staggering, while competition for the big prizes is red hot.
Commenting on the encouraging figures and the calibre of entries, Philip Forrest, Chairman of Judges, the National Business Awards, said: “The economic climate continues to present UK businesses with an unprecedented challenge and it is therefore encouraging that the entries in this year’s National Business Awards have shown no drop in quality or performance. Congratulations to all finalists for demonstrating great strength in the ability to adapt and innovate quickly which no doubt reflects the resilience and optimism that are the hallmarks of UK enterprise.”
Finalists will as of today prepare to make their presentations in person before an independent, expert judging panel from 20th September – 6th October.
2010 winners will be unveiled at a glittering award ceremony on 9th November at the Grosvenor House hotel in London. Current title holders include Peter Marks, Group CEO, the Co-op, who won The Orange Leader of the Year in 2009 and Tristram Mayhew, CEO, Go Ape, who won The Santander Small to Medium Sized Business of the Year Award 2009.
“Applying for the National Business Awards was in itself a good business discipline since it required a rigorous assessment of our strengths and weakness as an organisation. Going on to win an award has been a great boost for all the 350 people who have dedicated themselves to making Go Ape a success. It has given us fantastic PR opportunities right across the country and provided a small company with added commercial credibility”, said last year’s winner of the 2009 Santander SME Award and Go Ape Founder, Tristram Mayhew.
Hoping to mirror the success of fellow SME, Go Ape,
in this year’s Awards, is Naked Wines, a finalist in the Orange Innovation Award. Naked Wines is an online wine market,
which was very bravely created by 17 “deranged and passionate” friends during the
height of the recession. The company
supports independent winemakers from around the world, investing in them in return
for preferential prices which are then passed onto customers.
It's proving to be a highly successful business model with huge potential
for profitable growth - hence their nomination today alongside all the other finalists
who so richly deserve to be named and celebrated. In today’s uncertain market, bravery,
energy and creativity are needed more than ever.
Kestrel was thrilled to receive just over 200 guests at a fantastic reception at the Terrace Pavillion, House of Commons in the Palace of Westminster. This gathering of friends, colleagues, customers and suppliers was called together to witness Andy Thorne receiving the Queen’s Award on behalf of the entire Kestrel team.
We were extremely proud to be hosted by Andrew Rosindell, newly re-elected MP of Romford, who has known Andy for many many years, being childhood friends. Andrew Rosindell has special responsibilities for Montserrat, Cayman and the Turks & Caicos islands. The Caribbean Council were also heavily involved in the organization of this event, and we are very grateful to the support of John Bowers, Chairman of the Caribbean Council and Stephanie Whittle.
It was a lovely summers evening, so most guests made the most of the spectacular views from the terrace and there was plenty of time to circulate with the guests from all over the world who had connections in international trade.
Then it was time for the Award Ceremony itself, and we introduced the Queen’s Representative, Mr Bruce Houlder, QC DL, who was carrying out the Honours. It was our particular pleasure to realize that this was his first occasion carrying this official duty, and we were thrilled that he could attend, bringing with him his charming wife, Stella.
Andrew Rosindell, gave an introductory speech before handing over to the Bruce. Bruce spoke about Kestrel’s beginnings, with Andy, the young man from Romford and his aspirations to build a company in international shipping against many adversities. Andy left school at 16 with no qualifications, but a desire to be involved in two areas that he loved – geography and sailing. His early love of sailing was inspired by step-father, Colin Bowles, who has circumnavigated the world single handed not once, but twice ! Having been round in both directions. What an inspiration. Andy himself skippered their yacht “Crazy Horse” into Ostend Harbour at the age of 14. His determination and ambition, shone through at an early age.
Early Days Sailing, Andy and his Mother, Pat Bowles aboard “Crazy Horse”
Bruce carried out his role flawlessly and we all felt very humbled as he handed over the beautiful crystal challis, engraved with the Queen’s Logo and also the Award title, to an emotional Andy Thorne.
Next, was the beautiful scroll emblazoned with the Royal logo and signed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Andy then spoke passionately to his guests about his business, from it’s meager beginnings through to the global company it is today. Kestrel is truly a UK success story about a young man with very small means, but a big dream. It is huge testament to one man’s vision that the company is what it is today, and also due to the fabulous team network that drives Kestrel in it’s many locations across the world. There are Far too many people to thank in this text, but they all know who they are. From the loyalty of customers who have been with the company from the very beginning, 16 years ago, through to all of the Kestrel staff, and it’s many many suppliers.
Bouquets of flowers were presented to Sarah Byron and Stephanie Whittle for of their help in organizing the event.
We were thrilled that so many people could join us, guests from the Miami office such as Steve Keats and Gary Aspinall, with his wife Vianka. Vladimar from as far afield as our Brazil office, Customers both old and new, such as Derrick Stansfield from Hawkspare and Robert Aquadro from Virgin Limited Edition.
Many Ambassadors and High Commissioners from our areas of trade were able to join us on the night, and we say a special thank you to them. The evening continued with music from the Nites Blue Steel Band trio, and the cutting of a fabulous cake prepared by Jane Asher cakes of Knightsbridge.
The food and wine flowed, and we could not have asked for a more special celebration. A huge thank you to all the suppliers who made the event possible, and to all or our wonderful guests.
Reception, Catering & Flowers provided by The House of Commons
Hosted by Andrew Rosindell
MP Photography by Steve Dunlop - View a complete album of the reception photos.
Cake by Jane Asher Cakes
Entertainment by The Nites Blue Steel Band Trio
Kestrel Liner Agencies Ltd wins The Queen's Award for Enterprise, International Trade, 2010
It is with immense pleasure and pride that we announce that Kestrel Liner Agencies Ltd has won the 2010 Queen's Award for Enterprise, International Trade. This is the UK's most prestigious award for business performance, and we are honoured and delighted to share this with our friends, colleagues and customers.
The Award is for Continuous Achievement in International Trade, resulting in substantial overseas earnings with growth and commercial success, sustained over not less than six years, to levels which are outstanding for the services concerned and the size of the applicant's operations.
In a world dominated by the mega-carriers we are delighted to achieve this. The Awards are only granted to business units that maintain the highest standards of propriety and we feel that the Award echoes all the sentiments that Kestrel values in terms of Quality of Service. From starting the business 16 years ago this April with his partner Mark Pattison, Andy Thorne, Owner & Chairman, comments "I am overwhelmed by this achievement, and want to personally thank all of those customers, suppliers, employees and friends who have helped Kestrel achieve such a level of greatness. I never imagined 16 years ago that I would be able to claim such industry success and it is a credit to all those involved in our business. There are Far too many people to thank personally here. On a new note I am more excited than ever to be entering a new phase of development and growth as we go through 2010. So watch this space !" Full details of the Awards ceremony and celebrations will posted in due course, so please log on again to read more about the Award and see full editorial and photographs"
The path to achieving the Queen's Award is understandably stringent and covers many criteria. These include proving that our pattern of growth of earnings amounts to commercial success and of course that we maintain the highest standards of propriety. We needed to describe in full our international and domestic trading strategies, and describe the implementation of these strategies in full. Our 10 year plan was vital to this, as we had clearly identified competition and knew exactly what the company strategy was and how the marketing plan would work. Kestrel has always aimed to be different and bring something extra to our customers. Being small but reactive and creative compared to the likes of the "mega carriers" ensured our success. The winning strategy has always been to be flexible and provide what others couldn't.
Our strong growth pattern is highlighted by following our global strategy for the markets and carriers we have been able to represent, shown in chronological order below :
1994 Ecuadorian Line
1996 SAIL our own brand
1997 Horn Linie GmbH
1998 Tropical Global Logistics, as their UK agent
2003 Tropical Global Logistics, on a world wide basis
1998 UAL
2000 Nirint Shipping
2003 Advance
2005 Trinitas
2006 FCL Carrier
2007 Venbulk
2007 Baltic & European Shipping
2007 Maruba, as their Miami agent
2009 Maruba, as their UK agent
We also had to explain how we handle and use overseas agents, what our after sales and technical advice is like and how it is measured, whether we participate in trade missions, and our staff training and export practices. We also needed to clarify whether we visit our existing and potential markets – this is actually one of our hallmarks as from the start Andy Thorne has believed in the power of dealing with people face to face and the importance of knowing your customers first hand, and understanding their business is the key to our success.
As part of the process we had to describe our geographical spread and it's growth, and confirm the percentage of overseas sales to our top markets and also explain the new markets we had identified during the six year period that is evaluated. This for us was again a particularly strong area, as we spread from as far and wide as Kazakhstan to the Azores, and have shown a continual path of establishing new business in new markets in 4 of the 6 years assessed, with more than one large piece of new business occurring in most of these years.
Then of course we had to go into areas such as our IT and Internet programmes.
We went into detail about the International Trading Environment and the impact this has had on the world of shipping and world economies – we are of course greatly affected by currency and fuel fluctuations. To be able to show growth during the recent difficult times is a great testament to the company.
Our declaration of Corporate Responsibility covered our Impact on Society, our Environmental Impact, our Relations with Suppliers, Partners and Contractors, Relations with Employees, Relations with Customers. As well, of course, as Full auditory compliance certified by our external auditors.
It is impossible to share in writing how hugely proud we are to have been able to achieve this award, which as you can see from the above is not lightly given.
One last Quote from Andy Thorne
"Kestrel Liner Agencies has only been trading for 16 years, and the award, the most prestigious award for British performance, is measured over the previous 6 trading years. Growth has to be enormous, and if you read the words of Her Majesty's Office
"The Award is for Continuous Achievement in International Trade, resulting in substantial overseas earnings with growth and commercial success, (more than doubling of export earnings) sustained over not less than six years, with extremely high export percentages through a robust marketing plan against strong international competition to levels which are outstanding for the services concerned and the size of the applicant's operations. "Quote – the Queen's Awards Office
It is clear that we have done extremely well during the most serious economic downturn since the depression.
For me personally, the boy from London who left school without any real qualifications this is indeed unbelievable. I started my life as a runner at age 16, and quickly figured out that getting on in business was easy if you could find an angle. I worked my way up in life and eventually started this company on my 30th birthday. (30th April 1994) next Friday I will be 46 and the company will have traded for 16 years. We have gone from a 2 man operation in the East End of London to a global phenomenon. The Kestrel brand is internationally recognized as being synonymous with superlative service and on time delivery. We now have offices in Miami, Nassau, Trinidad and will soon announce others.
On 24th May we will hold a reception at the Palace of Westminster and on the 12th July I will go to Buckingham Palace to meet Her Majesty. This is indeed a great honour and one I shall cherish forever."
Please continue to watch this space for further updates from the Reception, more News and Photographs.
KESTREL LINER AGENCIES UK NOMINATED AS AGENTS FOR INTERMARINE LLC CUSTOMIZED
TRANSPORT WORLDWIDE BREAKBULK / HEAVY LIFTS - April 13, 2010
We are pleased to announce the new heavy lift operation between Europe and East
Coast South America, deploying two 10,400 dwt ships with two 250 ton cranes each
(500 tons combined). Rotation varies, but general ports of call are Immingham/Aberdeen,
Hamburg, Antwerp, Vitória, Rio de Janeiro, Santos and Buenos Aires. Other ports
of interest include Bilbao, Le Trait, Rotterdam, Bremen, Niteroi and Port Stanley
(Falkland's).
INTERMARINE, with its fleet of over 30 vessels, continues to expand their global
services which already include: Far East to East Coast South America. Far East to
US Gulf. US Gulf to East and West Coast South America. US Gulf to North Coast South
America. US Gulf to Caribbean.
For further information / quotations please contact us on 01224 595005 or 01268 287700 Email: sales@kestrel-liner.com
LATEST WEATHER CARIBBEAN AND AND LATIN AMERICA
Tropical Weather
THE PRINCES RAINFOREST TRUST www.rainforestsos.org
The Prince of Wales set up the Princes Rainforest Trust in 2007. The world's rainforests
are being lost at a catastrophic rate. It is desperately important that action is
taken now, before it is too late. There are many ways to help and the website gives
full details about this charity and it's proposals. Rainforests benefit the world
by storing water, regulating rainfall and homing a vast array of plant and animal
life. Critically they also absorb and store Carbon Dioxide therefore limiting the
amount of fossil fuel emissions building up each year, to make matters worse by
cutting down and then burning the rainforests more emissions are released than by
the ENTIRE GLOBAL TRANSPORT SECTOR. There is a counter on the site that shows the
amount of rainforest destroyed since you loaded the page – open it – it's a real
eye opener ! You can sign up On Line up to add your voice to stopping de-forestation,
it takes only seconds to do this. Please sign up now and put your voice forward
to stop the destruction of the world's rainforests. The website also gives further
details about how you can become involved either on an individual or corporate level.
VIRGIN LAUNCHES NEW SITE AND CHAT FORUM www.vtravelled.com.
This is an excellent site for all those keen on travel and will become very much
what it's users develop it to be. The main emphasis is on a site wher you
can build travel trips with groups of people based anywher in th eworld, view other's
trips, load your photos onto the areas of the world you have visited and view other's
photoes, not to mention the maps and other invormation . Go to www.vtravelled.com, and take a look
KESTREL LINER AGENCIES CELEBRATES 15th ANNIVERSARY
Like the niche carriers we represent, the Kestrel has adopted to
it's surroundings and continues to evolve.
