CAITHNESS COMPANIES URGED TO ENTER NATIONAL AWARDS

12th March 2007

The National Business Awards for Scotland recognises and rewards excellence, innovation and success. Uniquely open to organisations of all sizes and from any industry sector - public or private, companies from around the Caithness area are now being invited to take part in this year's competition. The closing date for entries is Tuesday 22 May 2007.

The National Business Awards for Scotland, sponsored by Orange, allows the best of Scottish businesses to showcase their achievements and benchmark their successes against firms and bodies of all types, the total entry in the 2006 event had a combined turnover of 22billion pounds, generated profits of 8.3billion pounds (which accounts for around 30 per cent of Scotland's GDP) and employed over 300,000 people.

Made up of fourteen categories, short listed finalists will be announced in early June before preparing to make their presentations in person before an independent, expert judging panel in mid to late July. Winners will be unveiled at a glittering gala Awards ceremony in Glasgow on 13 September.

The categories are:

� The Business of the Year Award
� The Entrepreneur of the Year Award
� The Weber Shandwick Employer of the Year Award
� The Customer Focus Award
� The Marketing Strategy of the Year Award
� The Orange Best Use of Technology in Business Award
� The Atos Origin Award for e-Enablement
� The Danwood Growth Strategy of the Year Award
� The AXA Small to Medium Sized Business of the Year Award
� The Environmental Awareness Award
� The Oracle Business Innovation of the Year Award
� The ProjectScotland Corporate Social Responsibility Award
� The VisitScotland Tourism Business of the Year Award
� The LogicaCMG Leadership Award


2006's winners included: Aberdeen College, Bigmouthmedia, Glencairn Crystal, Haggis Adventures, MediaCom Scotland, Redeem and Jamie Smith of The Ice Factor was The Entrepreneur of the Year.

Neil Laidler, Vice President Business Services, Orange UK, said: "Entrepreneurship, innovation and determination to succeed are the central characteristics of every thriving business. People want to be inspired to learn from the success of others and The National Business Awards for Scotland continue to provide an excellent benchmark of this business success. Supporting business excellence is something Orange is very passionate about. Our continued involvement with the National Business Awards for Scotland provides the opportunity to engage with the country's leading organisations and celebrate their achievements."

To obtain further information or enter please visit
www.businessawardsforscotland.com, telephone 0141 548 1444 or email
nbascotland[AT]questmedia.com