New national awards series puts UK manufacturers centre stage
A major national award programme has been launched today by EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation. The EEF Future Manufacturing Awards will reward enterprise, innovation, environmental performance and skills development among the UK ’s 130,000 manufacturing businesses.
Particular recognition will be given to companies that are successfully seizing the business opportunities presented by the fast growing market for low carbon products and services.
“With the UK’s services economy in disarray its time for the manufacturing industry to get the recognition it deserves as the UK’s true engine of economic growth and a hot bed of innovative thinking,” says EEF’s CEO, Gilbert Toppin.
“Too many people have a negative view of manufacturing which is out of date. We’ll show them how wrong they are by drawing the country’s attention to those businesses that are breaking down barriers, reinventing the rules and reaching out for new opportunities to create a manufacturing industry this country can be proud of.”
EEF points out that the UK remains the world’s sixth largest manufacturing base, that the industry employs three million people, creates 50% of UK exports and accounts for 75% of all business funded research and development. “Manufacturers have been building our future for hundreds of years,” says Toppin. “And they continue to do so today.”
EEF’s award initiative is applauded by The Rt. Hon. Lord Peter Mandelson, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform.
“Manufacturing is vital to the UK economy’s future. The skills and knowledge that deliver innovation and low carbon development will power the UK’s return to economic growth. Low carbon - already a £3 trillion industry -is set to double in the next few years and has the potential to create more than 400,000 new UK jobs over the next 5 years in this sector. These awards give important recognition to the value that innovative manufacturing businesses contribute to our economy, and we are working with EEF and other industry bodies to help build the UK’s manufacturing future.”
The EEF Future Manufacturing Awards will recognise outstanding achievement in three key areas:
Innovation
- The Innovative Working Practices Award
- The Innovative People Practices Award
Environment
- The Climate Change Business Opportunity Award
- The Environmental Achievement Award
Enterprise
- The Business Growth Award
- The Skills Award
In addition, there will be an Apprentice award in each region, along with a national Apprentice of the Year award.
Awards will be granted in five regions with the regional winners, announced in November going forward to compete for national awards in each category, plus the overall Manufacturing Achievement of the Year Award. These will be presented at a national ceremony in early 2010.
Entry for the awards is open to all manufacturing businesses operating in the UK. Entry forms are available from the awards web site at
www.eef.org.uk/awards. Entries close at the end of July.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
About the awards
The EEF Future Manufacturing Awards are designed to recognise innovation, enterprise, environmental responsibility and skills development across today’s manufacturing industry.
Entries, open to all manufacturers operating in the UK, open on 20 April and close at the end of July. Regional winners in the South East, South West, North East, North West and Central England, will be announced in November with National winners announced in February 2010.
The awards sponsors include, The Daily Telegraph’s Business Club; corporate health insurer, Westfield Health; IT specialist Infor and British Gas Energy 360. The Chairman of the judges is Stephen Evans, Professor of Life Cycle Engineering at Cranfield University.
For information and entry forms go to www.eef.org.uk/awards
About EEF
EEF is the manufacturers’ organisation.
Everything we do is designed to help manufacturing businesses evolve, innovate and compete in a fast changing world. With our combination of business services, government representation and industry intelligence, we provide the skills, knowledge and networks they need to thrive.
Around a quarter of the UK’s manufacturing businesses are our members and many more use our services to help them work better, compete harder and innovate faster. Because we understand manufacturers so well, policy makers trust our advice and welcome our involvement in their deliberations. We work with them to create policies that are in the best interests of manufacturing, that encourage a high growth industry and boost its ability to make a positive contribution to the UK’s real economy.
Further up to the minute news on EEF’s views on the economy visit ‘Reality Check’, (www.eef.org.uk/realitycheck) an online source of economic data, insight and assistance, updated daily by EEF’s team of economists, analysts and business specialists.
www.eef.org.uk