The NSW Business Chamber has announced the finalists, which included Lithgow Fire Protection Services in the Excellence in Small Business category.

Lithgow Fire Protection was established by the Wilkinson family in Lithgow in 1976, and has been operated by Ian and Lorraine Wilkinson for the past two decades.

From humble beginnings – “we started out in the corner of my mother’s shed”, said Mr Wilkinson – the business defied the odds to prosper.

“They told us you won’t survive after 10 years and you won’t survive up to 10,000 invoices,” mr Wilkinson said.

“Well, we’ve had about 142,000 invoices.”

The latest honour continues a proud tradition of awards for the business, which in 2001 received an outstanding services award at the Lithgow Business Awards, and just two years later was a finalist in the NSW Business Awards.

Mr Wilkinson said the business had retained somewhere between 25 and 30 per cent of its original customers, a source of great pride, as was their record of just a single accident in more than four decades of operation.

The Western NSW Regional Business Awards recognise excellence in business, leadership, entrepreneurship, sustainability, innovation, business growth and employment practices across the Central West, Orana and Far West regions.

Winners will be announced at a gala dinner on Friday, May 11 at Rydges Mount Panorama.

They will then represent the region at the NSW Business Chamber’s State Business Awards in November in Sydney.

“I expect that our regional winners will again do very well at the NSW Business Chamber State Awards," Western NSW Business Chamber regional manager Vicki Seccombe said.