The top 100 businesses in Kirklees for 2021 have been unveiled at an online event held today. Seven companies are new to this year’s top 10, with only three maintaining their top 10 space from last year’s list.
Thornton & Ross and Buy It Direct hold the top two spots with Tandem 1987 Limited and PPG Architectural Coatingsjoint third. Seven new entries made it to the Top 10, with 33 companies new to the overall list, demonstrating business growth across the district even before the full effects of the pandemic have fed through into company accounts
The Kirklees Top 100 Companies is a partnership between the University of Huddersfield, Kirklees Council, the Huddersfield Examiner, and 3M Buckley Innovation Centre (3M BIC), that has renewed its commitment to celebrating the top firms in the district for the second year running.
The 2021 list was unveiled today (7 October) at a virtual event, sponsored by CityFibre, with some of the top 100 businesses and partner representatives in attendance.
Thornton & Ross was named the most successful company in Kirklees, having moved to number one from seven in last year’s list. Thornton & Ross, part of the STADA Group, is headquartered in Linthwaite and is one of the largest OTC pharmaceutical manufacturers in the UK, most notable for its household brands Zoflora, Covonia, Cetraben and Hedrin. It experienced an accelerated period of growth when the pandemic hit due to an increase in demand for cough and cold medicines and disinfectant.
The top 10 businesses for 2021 are:
3. PPG Architectural Coatings - Europe’s largest paint manufacturing complex, which makes paint brands Johnstone’s and Leyland, based at a 65-acre site in Birstall where it has been since 1983.
For the full Kirklees Top 100 list and more information about the initiative, click here.
The Kirklees Top 100 Companies list was established using a set of consistent metrics, through a combination of turnover, profit, employee numbers and growth, all derived from published company accounts of locally registered firms drawn from the FAME database.
Those in attendance included Jacqui Gedman, Chief Executive of Kirklees Council; Professor Bob Cryan, CBE, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Huddersfield; Sue Cooke, CEO of 3M Buckley Innovation Centre, with Professor Jill Johnes, Dean of Huddersfield Business School announcing the top 100 list. West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin also contributed virtually to the event, congratulating the initiative on supporting innovation, sustainability and education in the district.
Event sponsor CityFibre’s City Manager, Steve Moore, announced special awards for the list’s Highest Climber, Highest Placed SME, and Highest New Entrant, awarded to Adare SEC, Wooltex UK and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (EU) Limitedrespectively.
Jacqui Gedman, CEO of Kirklees Council, said: “Highlighting how businesses across the district are excelling in business growth, sustainability, innovation and nurturing local talent is a key aim of the Kirklees Top 100 Companies. I am incredibly proud of our business community, particularly over the last 18 months, and how it is contributing to regional growth and the future of our local economy and look forward to seeing what the future holds for our top 100 businesses.”
Professor Bob Cryan, CBE, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Huddersfield, said: “Driving innovation is a core priority for University of Huddersfield, in particular in health and med tech, which is why we are currently investing in new facilities in this area, as well as space for businesses and research activity. There is a lot of support and funding out there for companies with research and innovation projects across the district and it’s important that we highlight these opportunities through this initiative.”
Sue Cooke, CEO of the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre, said: “This year we put a spotlight on growing innovation in Kirklees. We have an amazing selection of innovative companies across a range of sectors from traditional engineering to state-of-the-art software, all developing their businesses in Kirklees. There are undoubtedly many more examples of business innovation out there and we’d love to showcase some more next year.”
To stay in touch with news about the Kirklees Top 100 Companies follow @KirkleesTop100 on Twitter and Kirklees Top 100 on LinkedIn.