Manufacturers
Actavis and Lambda were the big winners at this year’s North Devon Manufacturers Association (NDMA) awards in Barnstaple, scooping between them the Manufacturer of the Year; Best Team of the Year, and Best Transformation of the Year awards.
Tyco and Victoria Sawmills also received recognition in the most prestigious industry awards in the region, coming away with prizes for Apprentice of the Year; Innovative Idea of the Year, Sustainable Innovation Scheme of the Year and Trainee of the Year respectively.
As well as adding to companies’ trophy cabinets, the evening provided a unique opportunity for manufacturers, large and small, to rub shoulders with their contemporaries and celebrate operational excellence in North Devon.
Jimmy Jewell, chairman of the NMDA and managing director of Opticop Manufacturing, explains: “The awards dinner proved once and for all that North Devon has a flourishing manufacturing sector. To see so many people in one room acknowledging one another’s successes was truly humbling and a reminder of the excellent skills and leaders we have in the county, not to mention the diversity of the sector.”
There were 47 entries to the six categories and a 140 people attended the awards dinner, enjoying inspirational after-dinner speeches from Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, TV star and creator of the ‘Black Farmer’ range of food products, and Danny Bamping, inventor of the ‘Bedlam Cube’.
Linda Middleton-Jones of the MAS, a key sponsor of the awards, says: “Both Wilfred and Danny shared with a captivated audience how they have overcome adversity and cynicism to get to their current level of success. The message rang out loud and clear that to succeed in business you need to persevere and never give up - something that many of the manufacturers present could identify with.”
The event also raised £1,000 for North Devon Cancer Care Trust and Devon Air Ambulance through a raffle with prizes ranging from a flight for two to Dublin, seats for a Manchester United football match and a driving lesson on the Seaton Tramway.