News

Digital signage manufacturer Armagard wins Queen's Award for Enterprise

April 22, 2013

Birmingham, England-based Armagard, which makes protective enclosures for outdoor digital signage screens, computers, printers and other electrical hardware, has won an international trade award from Queen Elizabeth.

According to a news release, the Queen's Award for Enterprise is awarded to U.K. companies for outstanding achievement in innovation, sustainable development or international trade. The annual award is reserved for companies that demonstrate substantial success over three years, the release said, and which are considered outstanding for their size and trading sector.

Armagard is active in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and South America, the company said in the release, and exports have grown by more than 300 percent over the past three years. A spokesman attributes that growth to careful planning that pre-dates the recession.

"We conducted a strategic analysis of overseas markets and competitors, and formulated a targeted market entry strategy to grow export sales within outdoor digital signage," Mark Neal, the company's managing director, said in the release. "All of this was prior to the recession, but we decided to continue the plan against the advice of some of our then financial advisers as the recession hit in 2008."

Despite the lingering economic downturn, the company said, its foreign sales increased from 6 percent of annual turnover in 2007 to 63 percent by 2012.

Award-winners are chosen by Her Majesty the Queen, according to the release, with input from the Prime Minister's Advisory Committee.

"We are delighted to receive this Queen's Award after an excellent three years of export growth," Neal said. "It took exceptional planning and execution to succeed on this international level, but after the outstanding hard work of the Armagard team, we take great pride in our achievement."

Learn more about digital signage hardware.