Here at Universal Smart Cards we have been celebrating after being presented with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade by The Rt Hon the Lord Shuttleworth KG KCVO, Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Lancashire, accompanied by the Vice Lord-Lieutenant, Mrs Christine Kirk DL, and Mrs Helen Bingley OBE DL

The award ceremony took place at our Northern Sales Office, located in Rising Bridge, Accrington and was attended by the Chamber of Commerce, local council representatives, business people and key suppliers.

Chris Allen our co-founder and Managing Director of Universal Smart Cards welcomed Lord Shuttleworth’s party and the guests who joined for the day.  He emphasised that receiving such an esteemed award was a tribute to the hard work and dedication of the Universal team and gave a brief overview of Universal's capabilities.

For many years USC have supported international trade having sold to customers throughout Europe and the Middle East. We have also recently won important contracts in South America and Australia.

One key element of the proactive Export Strategy was the expansion into the USA, which has seen us open an office in San Diego, California. This had led to a tenfold increase in international trade.

Paul May, Universal’s Sales Director, went to talk about how apt it is that export achievement is being celebrated in the heart of Lancashire, as there is such an exporting heritage in the area going back to the first Industrial Revolution when the UK was the “workshop of the world”.

Paul May and co-founder Michael Smith attended a ceremony at Buckingham Palace earlier this year and the company is currently planning to expand into new international markets on the back of winning the prestigious award.