Most Improved Company
Sponsored by PwC
This is a new award for 2011. Entrants are asked to outline improvements their business has made in the last one to three years, highlighting any significant areas of change in that time.
To win this award, companies have to demonstrate all-round progress in every area. The assessors will score the submissions by looking for improvements across all the other award categories, giving particular weighting to the financial health of the business.
In 2009 RFD Beaufort began a major modernisation programme to radically improve its management processes. Over the past two years the business has brought in profound structural, cultural and behavioural changes, yielding tangible improvements in service and quality for their customers, development for their employees and profitability for the business.
The Manufacturing Excellence judges were particularly impressed that, despite these changes, staff throughout the business were uniformly positive, supportive and enthusiastic about the reform programme.
RFD Beaufort’s change programme has resulted in significant growth in both the marine and aerospace sectors with export sales increasing by almost 35%. Customer on-time delivery and employee engagement ratings have also been critical success factors in the programme.
Moya Johnston, MD of RFD Beaufort Limited said: “This is an excellent achievement, to be recognised as one of Britain’s top manufacturing companies. I am very proud of our record which is a testament to the commitment of all our staff. Our goal remains to take a lead in the marine and aerospace survival technology industries and we are working hard to develop the business further in the current market environment. I am extremely proud to be taking this back to Dunmurry with me, I know all our people deserve the accolade and they’ll be absolutely delighted.”
RFD Beaufort, part of the Survitec Group of companies, is a global market leader in the manufacture of safety and survival products to the marine and aviation industries. The business was established in 1920 and has been manufacturing in Northern Ireland since 1952. It is committed to providing customers with the highest quality safety and survival equipment in the world.
