On 5th October 2017, Lord Shuttleworth the Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire presented the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade to Chelsom Ltd. The accolade recognises Chelsom’s exceptional growth and success in international business over the last three years achieving 131% growth in international sales over that period.
Also in attendance were The Worshipful the Mayor of Blackpool Councillor Ian Coleman, Deputy Mayoress Councillor Debbie Coleman and Mr Tony Attard OBE DL. After initial introductions, Chairman Robert Chelsom and Managing Director Will Chelsom, were presented with the award, following a guided tour of Chelsom’s offices and factory.
Chelsom designs and manufactures decorative lighting for the global hotel and marine industries. Innovative in-house designs, high quality manufacturing and excellent service levels have contributed towards winning prestigious projects in 70 countries across the world. Exports now account for around 40% of all sales and Chelsom has built an exceptionally strong client base including major hotel operators such as Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, Starwood, Hilton, Accor, Marriott and on the marine side, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Crystal Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Lines.
Robert Chelsom, Chairman, commented: “I am extremely proud that Chelsom is one of only 3 Lancashire based companies across all industries to be honoured with the award for International Trade this year because it acknowledges the hard work, dedication and passion that every employee has shown in helping to drive the business forward internationally. The award comes in Chelsom’s 70th anniversary year making it fitting recognition that a third generation family business is continuing to expand and develop.”
Will Chelsom, Managing Director, has been instrumental in driving the Export division and diversifying into the marine sector: “We have achieved remarkable export growth particularly in North America, the Middle East and Europe. Major investments in our international sales team, our branding and overseas exhibitions have raised our international profile and have all been critical to our success. I am pleased to say, however, that we have maintained equal focus on the UK market which has also grown by almost 45% over the same period. Winning this export award is a great honour but it is also confirmation that our product design, overseas sales strategies and all the accompanying hard work are taking us to the forefront of our global industry.”
