26 August, 2011 – A Western Australian business crucial to the safety of liquefied natural gas platforms, oil rigs and desalination plants has taken top honours in the 19th Telstra Australian Business Awards in Melbourne.
Australian Pressure Testing Services (APTS), which was started in 2003 as a one-man consultancy, won the Telstra Australian Business of the Year Award after earlier being named the 2011 national winner of the Panasonic Australia Medium Business Award.
Today APTS employs almost 200 staff pressure testing pipes, relief valves and hoses for customers spanning from the West to Victoria and including the Pluto LNG and the Binningup desalination projects.
Founder and Director, Paul Newbound, said he established the business to improve safety and customer satisfaction levels through the pressure testing industry.
As part of his commitment APTS has also invested in the development of a state-of-the-art National Association of Testing Authorities accredited laboratory which provides quality calibration and repairs for pressure and temperature instrumentation.
Deena Shiff, Group Managing Director of Telstra Applications & Ventures and Telstra Business Awards Ambassador, said APTS was an outstanding business chosen from a group of Australia’s finest entrepreneurs and innovators.
“All finalists and winners are business leaders in their own right, demonstrating a clear commitment to providing top customer service,” Ms Shiff said.
“These businesses are led by passionate people who’ve taken an idea, found a niche, or fashioned a difference to compete in the local, national and, in some cases, the international marketplace.
“APTS is a business that has successfully positioned itself as a global industry leader in pressure testing and with 60 per cent of the world’s LPG and Oil infrastructure based in Australia, it is well positioned to flourish further.
“The judges were impressed by the company’s sound business practices, particularly the strong investment they make in their people who are all treated like family by Mr Newbound.”
Panasonic Australia CEO Steve Rust congratulated APTS, the winner of the 2011 Telstra National Panasonic Australia Medium Business Award on an outstanding effort among such tough and deserving competition.
“Just like APTS, we believe that central to business success is understanding opportunities, being innovative, open minded and customer focused,” Mr Rust said.
“In today’s environment, focusing on customers is crucial for an organisation; it is something that Panasonic has pursued for many years and we are proud to see APTS also share the same view.”
The winners of the 2011 Telstra Australian Business Awards are:
Telstra Australian Business of the Year
Australian Pressure Testing Services (APTS) Henderson, WA
Business Owner Micro-Business Award
Darwin Day Surgery Fannie Bay, NT
Established by registered nurses Joanne Kovac and Maureen Schaffer in partnership with resident plastic surgeon Ravi Mahajani, in 2007. The business completes up to 500 procedures a year, helping reduce waiting lists in Darwin for elective surgery.
MYOB Small Business Award
Flash Fotos Maroochydore, QLD
Melanie Summer expanded an existing photographic studio in which she was a partner into a business that runs full-time photographic road shows across Australia, servicing 10,000 customers in the past two years.
Panasonic Australia Medium Business Award
Australian Pressure Testing Services (APTS) Henderson, WA
AMP Innovation Award
Colmax Glass Pty Ltd Maroota, NSW
Established by Peter and Collette Harkins in 2005, Colmax Glass has four plants in four states that process waste from glass recyclers to produce up to 100,000 tonnes of glass each year for bottles, fibreglass insulation batts, water filtration and other products.
Yellow Pages Social Responsibility Award
m.a.d. woman – making a difference Rosanna, Victoria
Created in 2007 by Melina Schamroth, the business builds singles and volunteer events around community service projects such as disaster relief or cooking for homeless people.
Telstra Regional Business Award
Janison Coffs Harbour, NSW
Established in 1988 by Wayne and Jacquie Houlden to develop and host online learning systems, portals and assessments, Janison now has 100 national and international clients and its e-learning systems are used by more than a million people across the globe.
2011 Panasonic Australia – Medium Business National Award Winner:
2011 Telstra National Business of the Year Award Winner:
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