Helios receives royal recognition

A market leader in air traffic management and satellite navigation consultancy, Helios won the award for doubling its exports to an aggregate of 18m over 6 years and securing customers in 15 new countries. Managing Director Mike Shorthose commented: "To win such a prestigious business award twice is fantastic. Since we won our first Queen's Award in 2004, Helios has worked hard to expand into geographic markets outside Europe. We've also extended our market reach beyond our core aviation business and built a reputation in rail, maritime and radio spectrum. Today we're focussed on supporting our customers through some very tough times." The company continues to work at the forefront of some of aviation's most promising developments, for example the Single European Sky initiative and functional airspace blocks (FABs). It also has technical experts working on the delivery of a performance-based air traffic management system. The Queen's Award recognises Helios' success in developing new markets and its professional approach to business development: "A well-established marketing strategy is pursued by research, direct selling, active participation in trade events, the internet and places strong emphasis on high levels of technical skills and service."