By Jayne Munday | July 14, 2010A Brisbane-based distributor of diagnostic pathology and medical research solutions business has won top honours in the 2010 Telstra Queensland Business Awards overnight.
Abacus ALS, formed by a merger of Abacus Diagnostics and Australian Laboratory Services in 2007, provides internationally-manufactured products for clinical diagnostics in critical care, allergy and autoimmunity, bone and mineral testing, infectious serology and life science.
The business – ranked 145 in
QBR’s
2009 Queensland 400 – was announced Telstra Queensland Business of the Year last night at the 18th Telstra Queensland Business Awards after earlier winning the Panasonic Australia Medium Business Award.
Abacus Diagnostics was founded by Bruce Evans (pictured middle with Queensland Treasurer Andrew Fraser) in 1998 after he identified a gap for an Australian-owned distributor of in vitro diagnostic pathology and research products in a market dominated by a few multinational companies.
From a one-person operation working out of a home study, the company now has offices in four Australian States and New Zealand and its customers include public and private laboratories, blood services and university research departments.
'UNEXPECTED' WIN: ABACUSAddressing fellow Queensland businesses and guests at the Brisbane Sofitel, Evans says the win was “quite unexpected”.
“It’s great to reflect on how we do things and identify areas for improvement,” he says of the awards process, which this year included a free business health check.
“I encourage other businesses to do this [enter the awards].”
Telstra Business Group Managing Director and Ambassador of the Telstra Business Awards, Deena Shiff (pictured left), says all Queensland winners of the five Awards categories were chosen from hotly-contested fields and all had sound business strategies to continue their current growth.
“Abacus ALS should feel a great sense of pride because the calibre of the 19 finalists in this year’s Awards was very impressive, reflecting the strength of Australia’s small and medium business sector,” Shiff says.
CATEGORY WINNERS
Other Queensland companies which took out category wins include: Calamvale Veterinary Clinic, businessowner Micro-Business Award; Aqualogical, MYOB Small Business Award; Signmanager, AMP Innovation Award; and Northern Project Contracting, Sensis Social Responsibility Award.
The winners of the Queensland Awards now will be judged against the category winners from other states and territories in the lead up to the national Telstra Business Awards to be announced in Sydney on August 20.
“Moving forward from here, let’s see if Queensland can take out the national competition,” Evans adds.
Winners of the 2010 Telstra Business Awards receive a share of $400,000 in cash and prizes and become part of an exclusive national business alumni.
