As we kick off the Wiltshire Business Awards 2020, we take a look back at last year’s winners and find out what they think about entering.

At the 2019 ceremony, an IT company from Marlborough with an eco-friendly ethos was rewarded for its environmental efforts.

Staff from Green Machine Computers Ltd gratefully received the Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility award from sponsors and judges MAN Trucks.

A representative from MAN Trucks said: "The thing that really stood out about the winners was that they ticked all the boxes, upcycle and recycle equipment, and use that equipment to contribute to the local community."

Green Machine's managing director Simon Crisp accepted the award with Juliet Charlesworth and Ram Gurung. Mr Crisp told the crowd: "Thank you very much for this award. I started this company eight years ago because I saw that so much IT waste was going into landfill and I wanted to reuse it and reduce this waste that's abusing our environment."

Mr Crisp told the Adver moments later: "This is huge, I could cry, we were second last year and it's nice to get a big pat on the back like this."

Juliet Charlesworth fits in shifts at the company while juggling responsibilities as a stay-at-home mum and Ram Gurung served in the military before joining the team in a regular nine-to-five role.

The pair have been supported by the social enterprise aspect of the company which trains apprentices and helps them gain formal IT qualifications.

The business recycles and refurbishes IT equipment then donates it to charities and local community groups, and offers software support and hardware repairs.

Runners up for the award included Boxes and Packaging Swindon Ltd in second place and NCAB Group in third.

Adver editor Pete Gavan said: “Our Business Awards are highly-regarded and a fantastic way to shine a light on the brilliant work Wiltshire businesses are doing.

“It’s our 26th year and we’ve continued to move with the times tweaking our categories to best represent how business is today. So please, if you run a business large or small, take the time to enter – you won’t regret it.”

We’ll be giving more information about how your business can enter in the coming weeks. For more information, email wbawards@wiltshire.newsquest.co.uk