NW manufacturer – who will be cream of the crop?
THREE heavyweight businesses, showcasing the best of the region’s industry, will compete for the title of North West manufacturer of the year next month.
The finalists in TheBusinessDesk.com’s North West Masters awards are: ATG Access of Haydock; cooker manufacturer Glen Dimplex Home Appliances and Jaguar Land Rover’s Halewood operations.
The three will learn their fate on April 25 at a high profile awards lunch at the five star Lowry Hotel in Salford, where the innovation, entrepreneurship and excellence of the North West’s business community will be celebrated.
Voting is now closed.
ATG Access, which recently secured investment from leading mid-market private equity firm LDC, manufactures a ranged of security and access products, ranging from residential bollards to high-tech, anti-terrorist systems.
Led by managing director Glenn Cooper, ATG Access, is committed to product innovation and customer service. Its three-fold growth to £20m turnover since 2010 has been built on core values of flexibility, change and continuous improvement.
Its products have been installed at locations including Horse Guards Parade in London, Heathrow Airport, Changi Airport in Singapore, Doha International Airport, Shanghai Expo Centre, the Malaysian Prime Minister’s office and a wide range of government and infrastructure facilities around the world.
With the backing of LDC, the company plans to capitalise on the rapid expansion in major infrastructure investment in the Middle and Far East, South America and Africa, as well as demand in the UK and US for both new and retro-fit projects
Glen Dimplex Home Appliances, which has around 1,000 staff at its headquarters in Prescot, Merseyside, is the UK’s only major cooker manufacturer.
Best known for its Stoves brand, GDHA has championed UK manufacturing through the launch of a ‘Made in Britain’ campaign, which has attracted 800 other manufacturers, who all use a specially-designed marque.
As well as Stoves, GDHA owns the Belling and New World brands, which all appeal to different consumers, which allows the company to compete with its rivals.
Four years ago a decision was taken to repatriate manufacturing from overseas back to the North West. The move has boosted sales and profits – in the year to March 2012 the group made profits of nearly £7m on sales of £117m. It is now looking to develop partnerships with other brands to further expand the manufacturing capabilities on Prescot.
The third contender for the award needs little introduction – Jaguar Land Rover’s Halewood operations.
Job numbers at the North West plant of the India-owned group have trebled from 1,500 in early 2011 to more than 4,500 on the back of the stunning international success of the new Range Rover Evoque.
The Halewood operation is now, for the first time in its history, operating a 24-hour production cycle. With so many new people joining the business, the group’s commitment to training has been fundamental.
2012 was a milestone year for Halewood in a number of ways. Production of the 300,000th Land Rover Freelander made there since 2006 was celebrated, while the 100,000 Evoques were made in the first year of production – this was the first time JLR has produced 100,000 of any one vehicle line in a single year.
In addition, Halewood clocked up 50 years of automotive manufacture on Merseyside and celebrated with 10,000 employees, families and suppliers at an Open Day last September.
