A CAMPAIGN to celebrate the success of businesses in Great Yarmouth kicked off on Friday as the town’s MP addressed some of its captains of industry.

Brandon Lewis met with representatives of some of Yarmouth’s leading businesses at the Novus Centre to discuss the secrets of their success and how to attract more inward investment.

The Celebrating Success campaign is being run by enterpriseGY, which supports business enterprise and investment. The campaign aims to encourage companies in the town to shout more loudly about their achievements.

It is backed by local success stories including CLS Offshore, CSS Computers and C-MAC, as well as multi-nationals like AMEC and Halliburton which have significant bases in the town and play an important role in its economy.

Mr Lewis said; “I am constantly reminded of the fantastic resources we have in the town and the local businesses which provide goods and services across the region and in many cases internationally.

“The attendees prove how well Great Yarmouth is placed for business and how we can develop further in the future. With the news that the A11 is soon to be dualled as well as the fantastic facility we have in the outer harbour, Great Yarmouth is now in the position to really take advantage of this and become a centre for business in the region.”

Peter Wright, manager of enterpriseGY, said that Yarmouth’s businesses too often hide their light under a bushel when it comes to celebrating success.

“We want people to shout a little louder about what a fantastic place this is to do business, about how resilient our businesses are and why others should come and join in their success,” he added.

“We have a vibrant offshore industry in Great Yarmouth, and there is huge potential for growth in this area with renewable energy schemes in the pipeline, but the town also has thriving electronics, food and engineering sectors not forgetting the significant tourism sector.

“We hope that celebrating success will both encourage new and existing businesses and attract inward investment.

“Businesses in Great Yarmouth are resilient – they have been through hard times and succeeded – and they are going to continue to prosper further into 2011.”

Chris Taylor, operations manager for PNS (Pipeline Nitrogen Services), which has invested �15m in a new site in the town due to open in December, is backing the campaign.

He said: “Great Yarmouth has a huge wealth of talent in the energy sector and a skill set second to none. This was a major attraction which sealed our decision to establish a second UK base here.

“The offshore industry will continue to provide opportunities for employment for the next 25 to 30 years. There remains a lot of work to be done in the offshore and energy industry and I want to see it done from within Yarmouth.”