Lancashire manufacturer scoops top accolade at acclaimed industry awards

Lancashire manufacturer scoops top accolade at acclaimed industry awards

A Lancashire manufacturing business has won a prestigious accolade at the industry’s most acclaimed awards.

Leyland Trucks, based just outside Preston, won the Achieving Customer Value category at The Manufacturer MX Awards 2024.

The award was presented at a black-tie ceremony and gala dinner at the Titanic Hotel Liverpool on 27 November, the culminating event of this year's The Manufacturer Live. Speakers on the night included Dr Alice Bunn OBE, CEO, Institution of Mechanical Engineering (IMechE); Simon Evans, Vice President and Trustee, IMechE; and The Manufacturer’s Grace Gilling and Henry Anson.

With a combined heritage of over 50 years, The Manufacturer MX Awards are widely regarded as the gold standard in the manufacturing industry, recognising and celebrating both companies and individuals who are achieving amazing things.

Organised by The Manufacturer in partnership with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and with the support of this year's headline sponsor Columbus, The Manufacturer MX Awards are also the only peer-reviewed and judged programme of their kind for UK manufacturing.

The Manufacturer MX Awards exist to encourage, benchmark and celebrate manufacturing excellence, with every stage of the programme adding value for participants, regardless of their excellence maturity.

Rigorously assessed across 11 categories—including the new Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) category —and over a three-month period, The Manufacturer MX Awards provide tremendous value for every company that takes part, often revealing both strengths and weaknesses many didn't know they had.

Grace Gilling, Managing Director of The Manufacturer, praised all those who entered, saying: "The remarkable accomplishments of the winners showcase their unwavering commitment to excellence in manufacturing. With a stringent evaluation process grounded in peer-reviewed criteria, the selection ensures that each finalist is measured against the highest industry standards. The intense competition among these exceptional finalists highlights the extraordinary quality and innovation present across the breadth of UK manufacturing."

The Manufacturer MX Awards are supported by leading industry partners, headline sponsor Columbus and category sponsors: Autodesk; Cranfield University; Discovery; Epicor; RS UK & Ireland; Schneider Electric; Smart Manufacturing Week; and SugarCRM.

The Manufacturer is always proud and willing to beat the drum for UK manufacturing and that includes this annual recognition and celebration of all the amazing companies and individuals in the sector.

Here are all of The Manufacturer MX Awards 2024 winners:

Manufacturer of the Year 2024 (sponsored by Columbus) – Encirc Beverages

Runner up Manufacturer of the Year 2024 (sponsored by Columbus) – Britvic

Young Manufacturer of the Year 2024 (sponsored by RS UK & Ireland) – Sam Bennington, Encirc Beverages

Sustainable Manufacturing (sponsored by Schneider Electric) – Thorn Lighting Factory

Product Innovation & Design (sponsored by Autodesk) – Luxfer Gas Cylinders

Achieving Customer Value (sponsored by SugarCRM) – Leyland Trucks

Operational Excellence (sponsored by Cranfield University) – Encirc Beverages. Highly commended: Johnson Matthey

International Trade (presented by Manufacturing Industries Division of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers) – Webtec Products. Highly commended: Janus International Europe

Supply Chain Excellence (sponsored by Smart Manufacturing Week) – Encirc Beverages

People & Skills (sponsored by Discovery) – Evtec Automotive

Smart Factory (sponsored by Epicor) – Sertec. Highly commended: British Sugar

Manufacturing in Action (presented by The Manufacturer) – Aurrigo

Equity, diversity and inclusion (sponsored by Cranfield University) – LISI Aerospace

ENDS

Notes to editors:

High resolution images can be downloaded and used with credit to The Manufacturer HERE.

1. About The Manufacturer MX Awards:

With a combined heritage spanning five decades, The Manufacturer MX Awards was formed in 2015 by the merger of two of the industry’s existing awards programmes: The Manufacturer of the Year Awards, organised by The Manufacturer and the Manufacturing Excellence (MX) Awards, organised by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).

The Manufacturer MX Awards is the biggest annual celebration in the industry’s calendar. However, the awards are not just about the ceremony itself, they are the culmination of a rigorous programme designed to provide valuable business improvement advice and feedback from an expert panel of judges.

www.themanufacturermxawards.com

2. About The Manufacturer:

Published by Hennik Research, part of Nineteen Group, The Manufacturer is the leading industry resource for manufacturing thought leadership, features & analysis, research, and events. We pride ourselves on promoting the best practices, people, policy and businesses in both the UK and international manufacturing and engineering industries and offer a range of products to ensure that the right information reaches the right person at the right time.

www.themanufacturer.com

3. About the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE):

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) was established in 1847 and has some of the world’s greatest engineers in its history books. It is one of the fastest growing professional engineering institutions. Headquartered in London, we have operations around the world and over 113,000 members in more than 140 countries working at the heart of the most important and dynamic industries such as the automotive, rail, aerospace, medical, power and construction industries. By working with leading companies, universities and think tanks, the Institution creates and shares knowledge to provide government, businesses and the public with fresh thinking and authoritative guidance on all aspects of mechanical engineering.

www.imeche.org

4. The Manufacturer Live

The Manufacturer Live is the annual gathering of the manufacturing industry in November to share knowledge, celebrate success, reconnect and grow networks, organised by The Manufacturer.

The events provide business leaders with everything they need to drive their business forward in the digital era and showcase the very best of industry on a public stage.

The core events are: The Manufacturer MX Awards alongside Manufacturing Leaders’ Summit, The Manufacturer Directors’ Forum dinners & breakfasts, and The Manufacturer Top 100 networking event.

www.info.themanufacturer.com/the-manufacturer-live

5. Press Enquiries to:

Joe Bush, Editor, The Manufacturer

E: [email protected] | M: +44 7752 186153