A WELSHPOOL company leading the way in the design and manufacture of variable frequence drives has been named Powys business of the year for 2015.

Invertek Drives Ltd collected the coveted accolade together with the Award for Development of New Markets in the UK or Export at the annual awards at the Hafren.

The awards were collected by the company’s international sales manager, Wayne Morris, who said: “We are absolutely thrilled because these are very prestigious awards. 

“To win the Powys Business of the Year is an honour of the highest order.”

The independently owned company, established in 1998, employs 190 people worldwide, including more than 150 at its Welshpool headquarters and has doubled its turnover to £22 million in the last five years. 

It’s drives, which can halve energy consumption, are used to control the speed of electric motors in a wide variety of industrial automation and energy saving applications.

More than 90 per cent of the products made in Welshpool are currently exported to 80 countries worldwide and the business has subsidiary companies in Germany and Poland and trading operations in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Charles Haspel, operations director said: “We are delighted to win this award, which we see as a tremendous endorsement of the efforts of all Invertek Drive personnel to build a technology business with significant international reach achieved in the heart of Mid Wales.”

The other finalists in the Development of New Markets in the UK or Export category were Sharp Clinical Services, Crickhowell and Plant i Ltd, Machynlleth.

Rhydian Welson, sales and marketing director, missed the awards along with Mr Haspel, but has praised the togetherness of the employees.

He added: “We employ our people from the local area, and everyone knows everyone which is really good.

“We are always looking to expand.

“The competition in the awards was big, and it shows how Mid Wales is doing for manufacturing.”