Sunderland business given Queen's Award as tech company toasts American expansion

WorkCast, based in Rainton Bridge Business Park, is a leading provider of software-as-a-service (SaaS)-based online events.

The firm hasbeen announced as the winner for the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade 2020.

The honour is given for growth and commercial success in international trade over a three-year period.

WorkCast was founded in Sunderland in 2008 and now has offices in Seattle as well as Edinburgh.

The Queen’s Award comes off the back of significant growth and innovation over the past three years, particularly from their US operations.

Having set up its Seattle office in 2016, WorkCast impressed the award judges with its year-on-year growth in the online events industry.

A major part of its success is due to the webinars and virtual event platform, which provide businesses with new ways to run online events, helping them to meet larger audiences.

The company has worked with some massive organisations, including the NHS and Sony.

WorkCast CEO and co-founder Stewart Kibby said: “It’s an honour for WorkCast to be recognised as a leader in international trade.

“WorkCast was a great company with an outstanding product even before our US expansion. The WorkCast platform, Stratus, is an amazing fit for the US market and now increasingly allows us to expand in all international markets.

“As we grow, we know it’s important to keep innovation and focus at the forefront of our company. We have benefited from our team’s loyalty and the experience gained over a number of years, growing the business from start-up to its current success.

“Our North East England team have been the bedrock on which the business has thrived. Adding the US and Edinburgh marketing team has allowed us to excel internationally as well.”

Vice-president of the company’s North American sales team, Chris Darch, added: “It’s extremely heartening to be recognised for our success in overseas markets.

“Since opening our Seattle office in 2016 we have seen incredible interest in our platform across North America.

“In 2019 alone, our US team achieved year-on-year growth of 50% and we’re hoping to accelerate that in the years ahead.”

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