The heart of England runs on its businesses.
From Coventry to Wolverhampton, from Solihull to Walsall, the West Midlands is a region of towns and cities that each have their own character, and businesses that carry it.
The West Midlands Awards exist to recognise them together: the firms, founders and teams that keep the region working, wherever in it they are based.
One region.
Many stories.
All worth recognising.
Great businesses are not only found in the city centre.
A Black Country manufacturer that has supplied the same customers for forty years.
A Coventry start-up building the next generation of vehicles.
A Walsall family business that knows every customer by name.
A Solihull firm that grew from a spare room to a business park.
A Wolverhampton team that kept going when the easy option was to close.
Every town in this region has businesses like these.
Too few of them are ever recognised.
“Your town is proud of you.”
“The whole region should be.”
The strengths of a whole region.
Industry
The engineering and manufacturing the region was built on, and still leads in.
Reinvention
Towns and firms finding new ways to thrive.
Loyalty
Customers who have stayed for decades.
Growth
Businesses expanding, hiring and investing in the region.
Skills
Training and keeping local talent.
Community
Firms that are part of the fabric of their town.
Every town, every trade.
The West Midlands Awards are open to every business in the region, whichever town it calls home.
The Manufacturer
Making the things the rest of the country relies on.
The Town Centre Business
Keeping its high street alive.
The New Founder
Starting something in the town they grew up in.
The Family Firm
Passed down, and still growing.
The Growing Employer
Creating jobs across the region.
The Innovator
Leading change in an industry the region knows well.
Which one sounds like your business?
You don't need to be in Birmingham to be the best in the region.
Some of the region's finest businesses are in towns the headlines rarely reach.
Perhaps you are the biggest employer in your town.
Perhaps you are the smallest business on your street.
Perhaps you have supplied the same customers for a generation.
Perhaps you reinvented what you make.
Perhaps you have never entered an award before.
Perhaps this is the year.
The question isn't:
“Is our town big enough to be noticed?”
A better question might be:
“Have we done something the region should celebrate?”
Recognition can put your town on the map.
Standing
Recognition can show customers across the region that you are among the best.
Reach
It can introduce you to businesses in towns you rarely trade with.
Pride
A moment for your team, and for your town.
Recruitment
It can help the people you want to hire find you.
Connections
The evening brings together businesses from across the West Midlands.
A milestone
A recognised year to look back on.
The business your town relies on may never enter.
They may say:
“We're just a local firm.”
“Awards aren't for people like us.”
“We've never done anything like this.”
And sometimes that is exactly why somebody else needs to say:
“Your town knows what you do.”
“The region should too.”
“You deserve to be recognised.”
If a West Midlands business came to mind, perhaps you are the person to nominate them.
Recognition only matters when it is earned.
The value of an award depends on the integrity behind it, so the way entries are judged should be clear before anyone enters.
Free to enter
Nominating and entering cost nothing. No category depends on buying a ticket, a table or a package.
Independent judging
Entries are scored by an independent panel, not by the organisers, working under a confidentiality agreement.
Read moreClear criteria
Every category publishes what the judges look for, so you can read it before you enter.
Read moreConflicts managed
Judges declare any conflict of interest and stand aside from the entries it touches.
Read moreSponsors support the awards. They never decide the results.
From a name to the night itself.
Discover
Find the award category that fits the achievement best.
Nominate
Nominate your own business, or one from anywhere in the region.
Tell the story
Share what was achieved, and the difference it made.
Judging
Eligible entries are judged against the published criteria.
Recognition
Finalists and winners are celebrated at the awards.
Every town has its champions. Let the region see them.
Maybe it is the manufacturer down the road.
Maybe it is the shop your family has used for years.
Maybe it is the team you built.
Or maybe it is yours.