An engineering and design company, based in Redditch, founded by a former John Kyrle High School pupil, is among the national winners of the Chamber Business Awards. The winners were chosen from hundreds of entries from every corner of the UK and went through a rigorous judging process.

Bee Lighting, which was set up by Colin Fulford and his business partner, won the Small Business of the Year.

Colin attended JKHS after he moved to Ross-on-Wye with his family. His interest in engineering was encouraged and he then attended Hereford Technical College. During the holidays he worked at ABT Products and after finishing university he also worked there for about six years.

He worked designing vehicle chassis but he told the Ross Gazette that he was always interested in racing cars and really wanted to get involved in Formula 1.

He worked at various other companies for a while before he spotted a niche in the market and started his own company with a colleague, Paul Crees, 11 years ago.

They design and manufacture lighting for vehicles and specialise in low volume and high technology. They started the company with two employees and now have 37. They have connections with Maclaren and Lamborghini. Bee Lighting has just signed a new contract to design and manufacture the lighting for the Ford GT for the next seven years.

Mike Ashton, Chief Executive at Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce, congratulated Bee Lighting. He said “This achievement is well deserved and recognises the company’s growth and success in recent years. As Chief Executive of Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce, I am delighted that one of our companies has been recognised on a national scale.

“Competition in the regional and national awards is extremely tough and Bee Lighting’s success is a tribute to the world class, innovative companies we have in the county.”