Hunter tech innovators, SAPHI took out  honours in both the Excellence in Small Business and Excellence in Innovation categories at the NSW Business Awards in Sydney.

The home-grown Hunter business, based in Mayfield, develops digital and technical solutions to drive business innovation and efficiency. Its flagship product, Shellshock AI, detects risks in industrial and workplace settings, such as mines, manufacturing plants and remote roads to prevent incidents, improve safety and reduce downtime.

The success and international uptake of Shellshock AI has driven substantial business growth for SAPHI over the past year, with production output increasing by 1,700 per cent in just six months.

SAPHI Chief Commercial Officer, Liam Manning said he and the team were “over the moon” with the double gong.

“Our focus is simple: give camera networks a brain so sites can prevent harm and improve productivity in the same move,” Liam said.

“The awards have been a chance to reflect and appreciate the ground we’ve covered. Safety shouldn’t be complicated or expensive – it should work in the background and pay for itself.

“We didn’t set out expecting this level of impact and response from the market, but we are hungrier than ever to keep raising the bar.”

Hunter businesses were represented as finalists in most of the 21 categories at the NSW Business Awards, hosted by Business NSW at the International Convention Centre in Sydney on Wednesday 29 October.

Business Hunter CEO, Bob Hawes said it was great to see SAPHI picking up two awards among stiff competition from across the state.

“It’s no surprise given the repeated success SAPHI has had across a range of categories in the Business Hunter Awards,” Bob said.

“They are an agile, forward-thinking business that keeps adapting and innovating to respond to changing markets.

“They demonstrate all the smarts and attributes the Hunter, as an economically diversifying region, needs to see in our emerging, future-focused businesses.”

IMAGE | SAPHI team members celebrating two awards at the NSW Business Awards in Sydney.