NEWPORT & Gwent Enterprise has won a place in the annual index of Wales' 50 fastest growing firms.

Put together every year by Professor Dylan Jones-Evans, of the North East Wales Institute, this year's list featured NGE in 19th place.

The agency achieved a dramatic 188.9 per cent growth between 2001 and 2003, and managing director David Russ said the 2004 figures "are even better".

He added: "Seven years' hard work is now bearing fruit."

The agency's rise has apparently been founded on market research which told bosses that potential customers found no obvious place to turn to for business support.

"The market was fragmented and full of duplication. What we have tried to do is tidy things up at a local level, reflecting what is needed in Wales as a whole."

Key to this, according to Mr Russ, was the merger between the enterprise agency and the local chamber of commerce and industry: ngb2b.

"At a stroke it cut out a whole layer of confusion and eliminated overlap. It enabled the joined-up organisation to raise its profile and its game."

Since then NGE has turned its focus on three areas: its people, its partnerships and its customers.

"We used to be a product-led business," said Mr Russ. "But not anymore. We have invested heavily in building a first-class professional team, the best in Wales, which is motivated and focused.

"Then we have worked in partnership with others to deliver what our customers need, using a clearly identified one-stop-shop."

NGE looks for synergies between between public and private sectors: on the one side liaising with local authorities and quangos such as ELWa and the WDA and on the other with large firms such as Rowecord Engineering and Solutia.

The other growth booster, according to NGE, is being customer-driven and spotting gaps in the market. It cites its "Taste of Enterprise" scheme as an example. This, the agency claims, has been instrumental in breaking down local barriers to self-employment.

Under the scheme, art, media and design professionals have been given the opportunity to test their products in a business environment, providing a low risk, low cost start in business.

"Winning a place in the top 20 is great," said Mr Russ. "But behind the accolades lies a lot of hard work. In a nutshell our whole team working together in the right direction has to be our secret."