Business Editor RON GODFREY catches up with last year's winners, railway innovators Omnicom Engineering - who have had an eventful 12 months.

SOMETHING wonderful happens to ventures which win the Evening Press Business of the Year title.

Brian Richards, managing director of the revolutionary York-based rail firm Omnicom Engineering, was stunned when his firm was declared last year's winner. He could hardly believe it.

"I am totally thrilled, totally amazed and very pleased for us all," he said the next day.

But a year on Mr Richards recognises the immense value of that achievement for all the 60 staff at the offices in Tadcaster Road. "It had an amazingly positive effect on morale," he said.

Never was that high morale more necessary than in the months to come for the firm, which also won the Best Use of New Technology Award for its OmniSurveyor 3D.

This is software linked to a camera-bristling, all-seeing, all-measuring single diesel unit which roves Britain recording everything on and around the nation's rail network, so that maintenance workers can accurately and safely "virtually inspect" for faults.

Since winning a £5.8 million three-year contract with Network Rail to monitor the entire rail network, the system has been refined to the point where all that information gleaned from up to 11,000 miles of rail travel is now available on a special videoserver operated from York.

The software has also been used to create an inventory of "furniture" on the road networks too - and both versions have been attracting international interest.

Mike Nickolay, Omnicom's commercial director, said: "We have since won our first major overseas contract and have just completed a survey of all roads in Geneva for the Geneva city council so thay can update road maintenance."

That has encouraged the firm to seek more contracts overseas. It has bid for large rail surveying contracts in Australia and the U.S "and we have attracted significant interest for both road and rail systems from Czech Republic, Greece and Spain."

Through all this the Evening Press Business of the Year award had had a major effect, said Mr Nickolay. It had even more of an impact on the staff than the other, more technical awards won in the past like the Rail Innovation of the Year award and an Australian Innovation Award.

"Our people could identify far more with the regional accolade. "Our glass trophy has pride of place on the top shelf of our display cabinet."

Updated: 09:57 Tuesday, June 01, 2004