Jonathan sands, chairman of elmwood,
guiseley proves innovation pays
innoVator/08
This year Yorkshire Forward hosted the first ever
regional innovation awards, Innovator/08, which
celebrated the success of the region’s most innovative
companies and individuals. The seven winners were:
l Elmwood, Guiseley
l Brandon Medical, Middleton
l Cool Drinks Company, Stourton
l Medipex, Leeds
l Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering,
university of Leeds
l Briton Engineering, Holmfirth
l Jim Roddis, Design Futures, Centre of Industrial
Collaboration, Sheffield
Greg Taylor, brand innovation director of Guiseley-
based brand design consultancy Elmwood,
cites numerous commercial benefits associated
with remaining innovative, including increasing
competitiveness and staying ahead in the current
economic conditions.
Investment in innovation has not only earned the
consultancy more than 100 national and international
awards, it also helped it achieve a year-on-year
increase in revenue of 19 per cent in 2007. This year
the company, which already has an office in Australia,
is looking to open a fifth base in new York.
“The fact is we can’t afford not to innovate,” says
Taylor, “because then we would become the same as
everybody else.”
Applications for the Innovator/09 Awards will be open
from October 2008 so, if you're an innovator in your
field who has successfully delivered a new business
idea, the awards team wants to hear from you. For
further information visit www.yorkshireforward.com/
innovator09/ or contact holly.sowden@yorkshire-
forward.com.
“
THE F

ACT IS WE CAn’T AFFORD nOT TO “
InnOvATE,” SAYS TAYLOR, “BECAuSE
investing in r&D has delivered
tangible results for european
THEn WE WOuLD BECOME THE SAME
inkjet director max smith
AS EvERYBODY ELSE
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