Supporting Quotes
It's a commonly held misconception that manufacturing in the UK is in decline. However, the accomplishments of this year's finalists show that's not the case. IMechE runs the MX awards to help showcase these achievements, plus the benchmark reports that all entrants receive highlight areas for development and how to implement these changes.
Ruth Spellman OBE, Chief Executive, IMechE
The future of manufacturing depends on industry raising investment, applying science and innovation, best practice and skills to create better British products that comply with world demand in today's markets. The MX Awards show it can be done.
Margaret Hodge MP, Minister for Industry and the Regions
The process of entering the IMechE MX Awards has been a fantastic opportunity and given us a chance to summarise our performance and explore areas for further improvement by benchmarking with our counterparts across UK industry.
Tim Darkes, Managing Director, Trend Control Systems - Overall Winner 2007
To be recognised alongside major companies such as Agfa, DuPont, Elfab and Hozelock is a great boost to everyone at Rencol. Winning really sends out the message that we are moving in the right direction.
Jim Smith, Managing Director, Rencol - Winner Best SME 2007
The introduction of the Mentor scheme in MX 2007 really benefited us. They explained the submission process, which allowed us to focus our attention on key areas. Winning the MX award has been an uplifting experience for staff moral on our site and has given our site extremely valuable publicity across the company’s international sites. It has also given us that recognition within industry.
Graham Cooper, Site Manager, AGFA - Winner Sustainable Manufacturing 2007
Winning the Business Development and Change Management Award has certainly been an incredible journey. It is an achievement shared by all our employees, all of whom have risen to huge challenges in order to see through far-reaching change processes to a successful conclusion.
Peter Rush, Managing Director, Hozelock - Winner Business Development and Change Management 2007
The MX Award is a tribute to everyone within the Wright Group organisation and underpins our ongoing commitment to be at the forefront of technological innovation in our industry.
William Wright, Co-Founder of The Wright Group and Managing Director of Hybrid Vehicles Division - Winner Product Innovation 2007
Our industry is highly competitive. MX highlighted our strengths and allowed us to work on our weaknesses. We can now accurately compare ourselves with other manufacturers from all industries which has been very useful.
Tom Weldon, Managing Director, International Cuisine - Winner People Effectiveness 2007
As a former craft apprentice who joined the company with no formal qualifications I can really identify and empathise with the young people who join our schemes. For me there is no doubt that strong educational partnerships involving industry, academia and professional institutions can dramatically shape people’s career aspirations and their lives. The IMechE’s MX Awards highlight this. Such partnerships offer individuals unprecedented opportunities in terms of personal learning and career development.
Bernard Waldron MBE, Director of Manufacturing, MBDA - Winner Business/Education Partnership 2007
It was a real honour to win the Kellysearch Award for Customer Focus because striving to deliver customer service excellence is the key to our success.
Carol Cessford, HR Manager, Elfab - Winner Customer Focus 2007
Winning the Integrated E-Business Award has been a great experience for us. As a first time entrant it also enabled us to evaluate our ICT systems and websites, and gain valuable feedback from respected business people.
Simon Francis, Managing Director, Eastern Storage Equipment - Winner E-Business 2007
Barclays is proud to be associated with the MX Awards because we consider it to be one of the most prestigious award schemes. I’d encourage any company who’s got a story to tell to go in for the MX Awards because I’m a great believer that success will breed further success in the manufacturing industry.
Julian Turner, Barclays - MX Partner
Winning the award for Financial Management underpins the best practice and success we’ve had in achieving a 29% increase in profits since 2004.
Mark Urch, Business Development Manager, Dunlop Bestobell - Winner Financial Management 2007
Winning an award offers real recognition amongst our peers in the manufacturing industry. It also marks a massive achievement in terms of innovation, practical skills and technical know-how by our workforce.
Stewart Towe, Managing Director, Hadley Group - Winner Process Innovation 2007
Wrightbus was very happy with the press attention that the Manufacturing Excellence Awards received. Since winning the MX Award we have received numerous comments from customers and suppliers who saw press articles on our success. The coverage seems to have been spread across the UK, obviously helped by the Times Focus Report. Local coverage was excellent too, particularly due the presence of our First Minister Ian Paisley at the awards dinner, and the report even made it to the front page of one local paper.
David Barnett, Project Leader, Wrightbus - Winner Product Innovation 2007
Being Highly Commended in our first year of entering was a real incentive to re-enter. In particular the self audit very useful in allowing us to analyse the business in a new light and progress it. It gave the business great national press and really raised our profile. Our local MP Diana Johnson has been very involved in advocating and promoting the company and the local press and radio covered it. ’I think manufacturing is a very difficult industry to be in at the moment in the UK, but schemes such as the MX Awards help promote best practice in industry.
Lloyd Atkin, Director, Bio-D - Highly Commended Sustainable Manufacturing 2007
MX underpins our belief that successful manufacturing in the UK requires absolute commitment to the creation of a world class operation. Being judged and short listed for the prestigious MX Awards is tangible evidence of our progress.
Tom Hall, Managing Director, Alitex - Highly Commended Business/Education Partnership 2007
We think the MX Awards really benefit UK plc manufacturing companies because national benchmarking is a real opportunity to really examine best practice and is what’s going to separate us in terms of whether we can sustain manufacturing or not.
Colin Allaway, Manufacturing Advisory Service
Firstly companies benefit because they answer the questions and they’re often surprised by their own answers. They then pass those answers onto us and we give them an international standard benchmark so they can see areas where they can improve.
Colin Brown, Director of Engineering, Institution of Mechanical Engineers
Having entered other manufacturing awards in the past, our people entered the MX Awards this year because they believed they got far more out of it in terms of the assessment process and the benchmark report.
Hugh D Facey, Chairman, Gripple Ltd - MX2004 Overall Winner
This achievement is all about our people and shows what can be achieved through the mobilisation of creative minds, energy and enthusiasm.
James McLean, JohnsonDiversey - MX2005 Overall Winner
Working to encourage talented young people to pursue careers in engineering is a priority for us. The MX 2007 was a great opportunity for AnTech to achieve recognition and benchmark our efforts, against our peers in the manufacturing industry. Being Highly Commended has significantly raised our profile and helped raise awareness of us as a company committed to training and education, and recruiting engineers of the future.
Toni Miszewski, Founder and Managing Director, AnTech - Highly Commended Business/Education Partnership 2007
Entering MX and being highly commended has improved staff moral, which in turn has improved efficiency and greater commitment to our change management process.
David Male, Lean Manufacturing Manger, AP Driveline - Highly Commended Business Development and Change Management 2007
We recognise that successful manufacturing in the UK requires absolute commitment to the creation of a world class operation. To be judged by such an eminent body and deemed a success is a tremendous reward for our endeavours thus far.
Tom Hall, Alitex, Highly Commended Business/Education Partnership 2007
The structure of the MX process is excellent. The Benchmarking Report and Assessor's Visit were really useful and when we won it was a phenomenal experience and a huge benefit to the company.
James McLean, JohnsonDiversey UK Ltd - MX2005 Overall Winner