Aberdeen engineering specialist achieves King’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade

06/05/2024
MDL CEO Derek Smith

ABERDEEN-headquartered engineering specialist Maritime Developments Ltd (MDL) has been honoured with a King’s Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category.

The award reflects the company’s “Outstanding Short Term Growth” in overseas sales over three years, which saw exporting revenue growth of 120% alongside more than doubling in total turnover and more than six- fold increase in net profits.

A key market of growth in the award period was Brazil, as well as Angola, Australia, Canada and the USA.

The recognition follows MDL achieving the Queen’s Award in the same category in 2022 for “Outstanding Continuous Growth” – granted for six years of consistent growth in overseas trade.

The King’s Awards for Enterprise, previously known as The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, were renamed in 2023 to reflect His Majesty The King’s desire to continue the legacy of HM Queen Elizabeth II’s by recognising outstanding UK businesses.

The Award programme, now in its 58th year, is the most prestigious business award in the country, with successful businesses able to use the esteemed King’s Awards Emblem for the next five years.

Derek Smith, MDL CEO and founder, said:

“What an honour and privilege to achieve the King’s Award for Enterprise – the most reputable recognition for businesses in the UK. It is even more special considering it follows our Queen’s Award in the last year before they were renamed.

“These two Awards reflect the incredible growth of the company in recent years, all thanks to the hard work of One Team MDL and the trust our customers have laid in us to assist in their operations around the globe.

“I can see the results of this every day: in our ever-growing equipment portfolio, the exponential growth of our team – and the recent move to our new offices to accommodate them; and, of course, in the new global destinations where our expertise is being deployed to.

“Knowing the in-depth diligence process behind these Awards, it fills me with huge pride to see this success confirmed and recognised with this prestigious accolade – and I am excited to see where it will take us next.”

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