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ACID Member MastaPlasta scoops double Queen’s Award for Enterprise
A ground-breaking company set up at the height of the financial crisis has won two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, for both innovation and international trade.
Only five firms won two awards in today’s announcement by HM The Queen on her 91st birthday, and MastaPlasta Ltd is the smallest and youngest firm to be given the prestigious dual accolade. When the banking collapse of 2008 hit the retail furnishing sector, the furniture design founders of MastaPlasta spotted a gap in the market for high quality patch-and-mend solutions for thousands of people desperate to keep much-loved items of furniture which had suffered minor damage. Homeowners and businesses whose sofas and chairs had suffered tears, spills or burns have always struggled to find a cost-effective way of repairing their cherished piece of furniture.
ACID (Anti Copying in Design) members MastaPlasta, based in North London, developed a highly durable leather repair patch, in a range of styles, backed with pressure-sensitive adhesive, which has also been used in cars, on leather clothing, handbags, in motorboats and aircraft, as well as on horse riding and motorcycle saddles.
Now the pioneering patches are selling internationally from the US to Guam, and Alaska to Germany. Over the past five years, turnover has grown tenfold with massive interest in the US and Europe, and MastaPlasta has based its success on using UK suppliers throughout the manufacturing and packaging process. Many homeowners and small businesses use distinctive designs to make a fashion statement with their repair work, which can restore a £2000 sofa for less than a tenner, instead of hundreds of pounds in repair costs.
Stephan Pavlou, co-founder of MastaPlasta, said: “We have shown that even in the most difficult market, there are opportunities for British companies. It is just incredible and a great honour to have that innovation and international growth marked by The Queen in this way, and we are optimistic about further growth overseas.”
ACID CEO Dids Macdonald, OBE said: “MastaPlasta have not only demonstrated an innovative approach to a collapse in sofa sales but have embraced sustainability by up-cycling and recycling – “Make-do and mend and save the planet, one patch at a time is their motto”. They also fiercely guard their intellectual property which, through their tradable IP, has seen their growth rocket. Many congratulations on receiving the much coveted Queens Award, we are very proud of you!”