It has been said that if the greatest pleasure in life is to win, the second greatest is to lose. At Hugo Carter, we have vivid recent reasons to agree heartily with this observation.
You may have noticed that our website now carries a logo telling the world we were a finalist at the 2022 Building Innovation Awards. We see this as our new badge of honour.
Hugo Carter was proud to be shortlisted in two categories for our Silent Windows: Most Innovative New Product, and Most Innovative Supplier.
Our name was not called out when the envelopes holding the winner’s identity were opened. There would be no addition to our impressive collection of industry awards.
However, simply being in attendance at the awards ceremony in Manchester brought home to us what an achievement it was to be vying for recognition against some incredibly impressive rivals.
There’s no shame in losing to a worthy winner
For example, the Most Innovative Supplier award went to a company, Glen Dimplex, that had created a zero energy system that uses a central loop to supply energy to heat residential apartment blocks.
What a tremendous innovation – and, looking at the size of that firm, it probably spends more on research and development each year than Hugo Carter turns over in total!
Another award winner was an architectural practice that had worked on the restoration and refurbishment of the headquarters of BAFTA – and, before that, the RIBA building in London.
Yet another prize went to a company that had invented an e-socket that helps property owners to monitor the percentage of renewable energy they consume – and the power usage in their home.
It was a privilege merely to be in the same categories as operations such as these. And it is worth noting that of the 21 winning businesses, 19 have an annual turnover of more than £7million, much higher than Hugo Carter’s. Of those, 14 turn over more than £25million… and seven have a turnover that tops £1billion a year.
We made many friends on the night, and we will seek to build relationships with the companies we met – some of which might consider a future partnership with a supplier of innovative silent windows.
Inspired and energised to maintain our pace of innovation in 2023
Returning empty-handed from an awards ceremony is an unusual feeling for the team at Hugo Carter, but we did not come home from Manchester with our tails between our legs.
We found it inspirational and energising to be on the same page, and in the same room, as some household names of the construction world.
To be on those shortlists acted as a reminder of how far we have come as a business in a relatively short space of time, of where we are now – and of where we want to go next.
We will move into 2023 with renewed vigour and enthusiasm to continue the process of creating and delivering genuinely innovative Silent Windows to domestic and commercial customers.
And we will aim to prosper, to grow, and to be back at the Building Innovation Awards 2023 with an even more compelling – and maybe prize-winning – story to tell.