A Powys business that came about from a love of the sauna experience has now been recognised as one of the leaders in the market.

Entrepreneur Olly Davey, who founded his own sauna business inspired by how much he enjoyed the experience, walked away from the Powys Business Awards with a prize for his seven-year-old company.

The business, Heartwood, at Esgair Forest, Pantperthog, near Machynlleth, won the Small Business Award, sponsored by Welshpool Printing Group, at a ceremony held on Friday, October 4, at Dering Lines in Brecon.

Mr Davey started the company in 2017 and now employs 14 people and 25 sub-contractors, with the business preparing to move into a larger, custom-built workshop, creating up to seven new jobs, including apprenticeships.

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He said: “It has been great to meet so many businesses here tonight and we were not expecting to win this award.

“I rarely pause for a moment and think of where we have come from and where we are now. It’s fantastic.

“We care deeply about the environment and are always looking for better ways to do everything.

“To us, sustainability means protecting and restoring the natural environment, caring about the wellbeing of our planet and all its inhabitants, supporting local communities, growing a happy, skilled team and never compromising the quality of our work.”

Beginning by making saunas for hire, Heartwood shifted to focussing on designing and building high end, energy-efficient, outdoor saunas for commercial clients and private homeowners just two years later.

The company uses quality sustainable materials sourced from a 20-mile radius of their headquarters to build the saunas, which are mostly built in the workshop but are sometimes constructed on site, with the company using the services of local craftsmen wherever possible.

The award judges praised Olly’s strong leadership and vision to take the business forward. “The company has remained local, creating employment for the community. By being environmentally aware, using more sustainable products, staff can take pride in their workmanship with a visually impressive product.”