English
Last night, at an exclusive event hosted by the British Ambassador in association with the UKTI (UK Trade & Investment) and awards sponsor RSM International, the organisers of the European Business Awards (www.businessawardseurope.com) announced the five National Champions for The Netherlands who will go forward into the next round of the prestigious 2012/13 Awards programme. 
These five businesses (SKB Europe, Kunststof Recycling Van Werven, Hinttech, Contronics Engineering B.V. and Hippo) will now compete for the coveted Ruban D’Honneur status against the very best companies in Europe. An esteemed panel of judges made up of Europe-wide business leaders, academics and entrepreneurs will assess all National Champions between now and January 2013 when announcements regarding the Ruban D’Honneur will be made.
This year, for the first time, entrants in the European Business Awards submitted a video case study. All case studies were uploaded onto the European Business Awards website and an online voting mechanism was introduced to allow the public to choose their favourite videos in each country. Over 35,000 votes were cast with one company automatically going through to the National Champion rounds alongside another four chosen by an expert panel of judges.
Jan Kees van der Leek and Ronald Dielissen of RSM Nederland: “We are proud to sponsor the European Business Awards, which is widely recognised as the most significant business awards programme in the region. This year, thanks to the video case studies, the awards have become a showcase for Europe’s most dynamic companies and we have been impressed by the innovation and determination shown by the entrants from The Netherlands, many who are experiencing high levels of growth despite difficult global trading conditions. We are now looking forward to the next round of the judging process and wish all the National Champions for The Netherlands the very best of luck.”
Adrian Tripp, CEO of the European Business Awards says, “This year, the video element of the awards has allowed our panel of expert judges to gain a much deeper understanding of the business strategies of all the National Finalists. It is because of this that the judging has been particularly tough and this year, perhaps more than ever before, it is an exceptional accolade to be picked as a National Champion. Together with our sponsors and supporters we’re looking forward to seeing how The Netherlands perform in the next round.”
The names of the overall winners will be revealed at a Gala awards ceremony in April 2013, where all Ruban d’Honneur recipients will be honoured.
For more information, please visit: www.businessawardseurope.com.
