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Recognising the growth in the domestic defence industry, the Optus My Business Awards 2018 has announced the finalists for its new category – Defence Business of the Year.
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The Optus My Business Awards is a prestigious national awards program recognising the best small and medium-sized businesses from across Australia.
The main criteria is 'importance of SMEs in defence industry'. SMEs provide Australia's defence industry with incredible opportunities and flexibility in the modern business environment.
Australian defence SMEs in particular are proving their value in key local and global projects, like the $5.2 billion LAND 400 Phase 2 project, the global F-35 supply chain and the $35 billion SEA 5000 Future Frigate program, through innovative developments in advanced manufacturing, training and service solutions providing immense economic value both locally and globally.
[Insert quote from Mark Burgess, Quickstep Holdings]
It was another record year for submissions, with hundreds of Australian SMEs and their leaders vying for 35 categories. The Defence category recognises the defence business that has most effectively capitalised on market opportunities and driven demonstrable business growth. It includes all defence-related manufacturing, technology, transportation, training and education, media and communications businesses.
The finalists for the 2018 Defence Business of the Year are:
- AeroPM;
- Anywise Consulting;
- Axiom;
- BlueZone Group;
- Cold Logic;
- HTA Group;
- Noetic Group;
- Ocean Software;
- Quickstep Holdings; and
- Safran Helicopter Engines.
The finalists cover a range of sectors within the defence industry, from the manufacture of advanced carbon composites and specialist software solutions to project management, consulting and engineering solutions.
Neil Hodges, CEO of finalist BlueZone Group, said, "BlueZone provides sales, service and engineering design for subsea equipment including robotics and marine autonomous systems for markets including Defence, offshore oil and gas and water infrastructure. Founding of the company was driven by a desire to take the lessons learned from working in large defence organisations and apply the best principals in an agile high-technology service business for the benefit of the end customer – sailors at sea."
Meanwhile, Quickstep Holdings CEO, Mark Burgess said, "Quickstep are delighted to have been announced as a finalist for the Defence Business of the Year category for the 2018 Optus My Business Awards. The company will continue to produce advanced composite manufacturing solutions to our global aerospace, defence and automotive customers. We are the largest independent aerospace-grade composite manufacturer in Australia, partnering with some of the world’s largest Aerospace/Defence organisations from our state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities at Bankstown in NSW and an advanced manufacturing site in Geelong, Victoria."
