AWCON was announced the winner of the Excellence in Business honour at the awards dinner attended by almost 200 business leaders and owners, held at Taronga Western Plains Zoo.

Dubbo businesses dominated the awards, claiming nine of 13 trophies.

A family-owned civil and mining services company, AWCON started from humble beginnings around 14 years ago when owner Paul Montagliani came to Orange to fulfil a four-month contract at the mine.

The company has since expanded to Australia-wide with projects in South Australia and has worked on jobs in Papua New Guinea and Mongolia.

To claim the Excellence in Business gong, AWCON beat fellow finalists Mangan Logging Pty Ltd from Oberon, Summit Cranes from Dubbo and Vivability Limited from Bathurst, and will now go on to represented the western area at the NSW Business Awards to be held in November.

Mr Montagliani was delighted with the recognition, earned after finalists put in a detailed submission which is then judged by a panel from outside the western region.

"Hundred percent, how do I put it - you work towards providing a good business and this shows the effort and the time the team has put in and all the loyal employees that we've got, they've gone above and beyond to get the growth going and achieve what we have," Mr Montagliani said.

"A couple of year's ago [2019] we won the Banjo Paterson award Orange one, obviously this is the biggest one we've won which is great."

Mr Montagliani said he first came to Orange in the late 90s for a project at the Cadia mine.

"I moved to Orange for a four month project 14 years ago and never left," he said.

He said AWCON started to flourish in 2015 when it was awarded its first major contract to construct and install pre-cast panels for underground extraction roads.

"We peaked at 240 employees last year just ramping down a bit now," he said.

Western NSW, Business NSW regional manager Vicki Seccombe said the Excellence in Business Award recognises a business that has driven growth and is able to demonstrate strategies implemented to achieve business success and resilience.

AWCON, which started as Australia Wide Concrete in 1998, has its head office in Peisley Street and has built a good working relationship with Cadia.

"Having good clients is a big part of it and Newcrest is a good client, they treat us more like a partner than a client which is fantastic," Mr Montagliani said.

"We're always looking at ways to expand better and always trying to work ahead for the employees, we want to keep that employee base and keep families with an income as well."

Dubbo family-owned business, 123 Tix was named Western NSW's 2022 Business of the Year.

The judges praised 123 Tix's impressive regional vision that has innovation at the core and passion underpinning the drive to achieve.

"123 Tix's win highlights everything we love about our local business community - innovation, ingenuity, and resilience," Ms Seccombe said.

"123 Tix's ability to compete successfully in an industry with very large and well-established competitors is to be celebrated."

Terry Wilcher, Managing Director, 123 Tix managing director Terry Wilcher said his team was humbled by the award.

"We are fiercely independent. We are regionally focussed and passionately believe in the importance of regional business," Mr Wilcher said.

"We are inspired on a daily basis by other regional businesses and regional people who have continued to rise above the challenges that we have all faced - drought, the pandemic and more. Turning negatives into opportunities is what regional Australians do best, and that is what we continue to aspire to do each and every day through continuous innovation and a regionally based team."

Ms Seccombe said the Western NSW Business Awards were about celebrating and showcasing the diverse array of talent in Western NSW's business community.

"We generally see winners from all over the region, but it's definitely Dubbo and the western part of the region that have dominated the awards this year.

"It's been an incredibly tough number of years for many businesses due to COVID, drought, bushfires and mouse plagues, so these awards are a wonderful opportunity to shine a spotlight on our amazing group of finalists from right across the region."

2022 Western NSW Regional Winners

Western NSW Business of the Year: 123 Tix, Dubbo

Outstanding employee: Jacob Willetts, Western Plains Automotive, Dubbo

Outstanding young business leader: Paul Cavalier, Print Storm, Mudgee and Dubbo. Highly Commended: Bree Martin, Envy Beauty By Bree, Cobar

Outstanding business leader: Joh Leader, LeaderLife, Dubbo

Employer of choice: iClick2Learn, Dubbo

Excellence in innovation: 123 Tix, Dubbo

Outstanding community organisation: LeaderLife, Dubbo

Excellence in diversity and inclusion: iClick2Learn, Dubbo

Outstanding Start Up: Quentin Park Alpacas and Studio Gallery, Tomingley

Excellence in micro business: 123 Tix, Dubbo

Excellence in small business: Topsoil Organics, Forbes

Excellence in business: AWCON, Orange

Outstanding local chamber: Dubbo Chamber of Commerce

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