Hudson Group nominated as a UK Business Hero

In this most difficult of years, we are humbled to be nominated as a UK Business Hero by the Chamber of Commerce. This recognition is awarded to businesses or sole traders who have gone the extra mile to support the local community during the coronavirus pandemic.

They say not all heroes come in capes, and, while we are naturally thrilled to be honoured in this way, we like to think we have simply acted responsibly over the past few months, eager to “do our bit”.

It’s terrific that the Chamber of Commerce has created the UK Business Hero awards. It shows how many businesses like our own have mucked in, helped those less fortunate and pivoted to offer new products or services.

For our part, it has been a pleasure helping the NHS and local charities with various projects since the world was turned upside down last March.

The Chamber told us about our nomination this week, together with a letter from HRH The Countess of Wessex. Her words are worth repeating here because we hope it might inspire others.

“It has given me great pride to hear how businesses have gone the extra mile to help during the coronavirus pandemic. For this reason, I am delighted to support the British Chambers of Commerce UK Business Heroes Campaign that recognises the incredible work businesses have carried out across the UK, in the most challenging of years.

“It has been a particular pleasure to hear stories of how you have supported your local communities throughout the outbreak and to see you nominated as UK Business Heroes by your local Chamber of Commerce.”

We accept our UK Business Hero nomination on behalf of the whole team here at the Hudson Group. Nothing we do is possible without them, and we are grateful that everyone has stepped up to the plate when it would have been easier to sit around and worry.

Our managing director, Steve Flory, says employees have done themselves and the company proud.

“I am thrilled our work for the NHS and charities during this terrible year has been recognised by the Chamber of Commerce. We don’t do what we do to win accolades, but it is nice for the team to know their hard work is not unnoticed. They all deserve praise for what they have achieved.”

We suppose the Chamber of Commerce has picked up on various projects we have been involved in that we hope have made a difference.

Early on in the pandemic, when personal protective clothing was hard to come by, we were pleased to print out hundreds of scrubs patterns free of charge for a team of marvellous people who were sewing them into vital PPC for staff at Ipswich Hospital.

With staff there and at Colchester hospital wearing full body protection and masks, we decided to print special tags free of charge, so that doctors and nurses could be recognised easily around the buildings.

As the crisis in hospitals deepened, it became clear that for protective and dignity reasons, there should be dividing screens between beds on COVID wards. We designed and created around 60 of these screens with aluminium frames and vinyl or acrylic boards and were happy to deliver them at a special price to help preserve vital NHS funds.

We have also been able to help various charities locally by developing sanitiser stations. Many businesses purchased these, from Scotland to the Isle of Wight, but we were happy to present them for free to charities.

Similarly, we designed and made various floor vinyls to help businesses organise their social distancing – and again, we have given these to charities for free.

Helping the community has always been at the heart of the Hudson Group ethos. But it’s certainly nice to be recognised as a UK Business Hero by the Chamber of Commerce. Thank you to them for nominating us, to the Countess of Wessex for her support – and to our wonderful team for making it happen.