Flexlife Scoops Prestigious Ruban d'Honneur

Aberdeen-based flexible pipe specialist Flexlife stepped ahead of tough competition to be selected for a prestigious Ruban d'Honneur in round two of the European Business Awards sponsored by HSBC. Receiving a Ruban d'Honneur is an impressive achievement and celebrates businesses who demonstrate exceptional performance within their sector. Flexlife will now compete as a finalist within the UKIT Award for Innovation category and hopefully win the ultimate prize of a European Business Award*.

Flexlife was one of only three Scottish companies to be given a Ruban d'Honneur and will be at the glittering Awards final at The Westin, Paris, on 16th November. The Ruban d'Honneur is awarded to up to ten successful entrants in each category. Judges deliberate to select which individuals and businesses are awarded the Ruban d'Honneur, and it is from the Ruban d'Honneur recipients that the final winner in each category is decided.

Flexlife was only set up three years ago and has experienced high growth in that short period. Through delivering true end-to-end solutions for the subsea oil & gas industry, Flexlife has achieved revenues of more than £5million from a workforce of just 30 people. It has developed innovative solutions to assess the integrity of subsea structures which are proving to have health and safety benefits as well as economic benefits for the owners of the structures.

Director Stuart Mitchell said: "To receive a Ruban d'Honneur from the European Business Awards is a real mark of distinction and is testament to the determination and passion which drive this company. Flexlife set out to offer outstanding levels of service coupled with a commitment to research and development which has seen us make industry history. Being selected to represent our country at European level is a fantastic achievement and one the whole team is very proud of."

All Ruban d'Honneur recipients will now prepare to appear before a third judging panel of highly regarded academics, heads of state, industrialists, entrepreneurs and media commentators drawn from across the 27 member European States. The interviews will take place at HSBC's offices in Canary Wharf, London.

Adrian Tripp, CEO of the European Business Awards says, "To get this far in the Awards programme is a tremendous achievement. The gaze of the European business community is well and truly on the Ruban d'Honneur recipients and flexlife demonstrated real talent in innovation despite what has been a difficult trading period. Together with HSBC we wish flexlife every success in this next and final round of the European Business Awards."

Alan Keir, HSBC Group General Manager and Global Co-Head Commercial Banking, added: "We are delighted to be part of the European Business Awards and our congratulations go to the Ruban d'Honneur recipients who have excelled to get this far. It is heartening to see that businesses across Europe are flourishing in spite of the recent economic downturn. I wish all the companies well in the next round of judging and look forward to the Awards final."