STAFF at the Great Yarmouth office of Offshore Design Engineering (ODE) joined the celebrations as the company won a prestigious Queen's Award for Enterprise.

STAFF at the Great Yarmouth office of Offshore Design Engineering (ODE) joined the celebrations as the company won a prestigious Queen's Award for Enterprise.

“It's a great day for ODE and an award in which all 84 of our staff in Yarmouth can take pride,” said regional director Paul Chilvers.

“It also comes as a feather in our cap when ODE is looking for continued growth in the oil & gas sector and to be increasingly involved in the rapidly emerging offshore windfarm industry.”

The Queen's Award, in the International Trade category, is one of a limited number given in recognition of excellence in international exports and celebrates ODE's achievement of significant growth in work for the international energy industry.

In 2009, ODE achieved a turnover approaching �40m, 50% of which was attributable to overseas business. Yarmouth personnel made a key contribution to that international business, operating on projects in Egypt and Germany, and with clients in Canada and the US.

Two weeks ago ODE's Yarmouth team also completed its project management role with E.ON on the �325m development of the 60-turbine Robin Rigg windfarm in the Solway Firth.

ODE was the works management contractor for most of the key construction phases including the supply and installation of the foundations, turbines, cables and the substations. It was one of the base's biggest jobs of the year, three times the size of the pioneering windfarm ODE helped E.ON create at Scroby Sands.

Now the company is focusing on opportunities being created by the Round 3 licence agreements for a series of massive new windfarms around the UK, three of them off the East Coast.

“With our experience in these developments, ODE's 30 years of engineering expertise and our location at Great Yarmouth, we are in prime position to compete for this new business and for similar opportunities emerging worldwide,” said Mr Chilvers.

“And we are also heavily involved in the resurgence of activity in developing and extending Southern North Sea gas fields and we also have a role in engineering upgrades at the Bacton gas terminal.

“The future is looking good and the Queen's Award has added to our optimism.”

Applied Acoustic Engineering Ltd, another local company, was recognised in the Queen's Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category. The Award acknowledged the company's outstanding achievement in boosting export revenues by over 300% during six years of continuous growth, and selling more than 70% of its products overseas.

“This is tremendous news for us,” said Managing Director Adam Darling, “We have competitors all over the world, so it's great to know that what we do in terms of engineering excellence, customer service and fast response technical support, really pays off. Our sales figures reflect our team effort in the truest sense. I'm pleased for everyone in the company because the recognition of a Queen's Award is about as good as it gets in business.”

Internationally renowned, The Queen's Award is universally regarded as one of the most prestigious business accolades in the world.