Safety Systems UK Wins Major Manufacturing Award

Safety Systems UK Ltd has been named among the country’s top performers in the first ever EEF Future Manufacturing Awards, by winning one of the five North West UK region company awards at a presentation in Manchester’s Imperial War Museum on Thursday 19th November 2009.

Safety Systems was awarded the Enterprise Skills Award for the company that has done most to harness the talent of its people. Safety Systems will now go forward to take part in the national finals of the awards program, the winners of which will be announced in February 2010.

The awards, which were launched in 2009 by EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, have been established to celebrate enterprise, innovation, environmental performance and skills development among UK manufacturers.

In the height of recession, Safety Systems took a brave decision to heavily invest in skills development rather than simply cut costs, basing its training strategy to support future-proofing the business on a key component of the business plan: the introduction of lean manufacturing to improve productivity, quality and on-time delivery.

The program to develop a more flexible workforce focused on continuous improvement contributed directly to a productivity increase of more than 50% and significant improvements in on-time delivery.

Chair of the judging panel, Professor Steve Evans, Professor of Life Cycle Engineering at Cranfield University said “the judges were extremely impressed with how Safety Systems had transformed the skills of its workforce and pursued such a challenging program through the recession.”

David Ost, Director of the North West Region for EEF, added that “Companies such as Safety Systems send a clear message that anyone who thinks the UK has lost its manufacturing edge is wrong! The Awards night proved there are companies right here in the North West that are breaking down barriers, reinventing the rules and reaching out for new opportunities to create a manufacturing industry we can all be proud of!”

Said Paul Williams, Director, General Manager at Safety Systems, “It was a pleasure to receive this award on behalf of everyone in the business. To be given external recognition from an organisation such as EEF makes us all feel very proud and provides further evidence of the progress we have made as a team at Safety Systems”.
About EEF

EEF is a prestigious UK manufacturers’ organisation. Around a quarter of the UK’s manufacturing businesses are members and many more use their services to help them work better, compete harder and innovate faster, thus boosting their ability to make a positive contribution to the UK’s economy.
About Safety Systems UK Ltd

Safety Systems UK Ltd is an internationally successful business which designs, develops and manufactures high technology products for pressure and flame protection. With facilities in Manchester and Wolverhampton, and further sales offices in China and Singapore, Safety Systems UK Ltd brings together over 180 years worth of experience in manufacturing from five major brands (Bailey, Birkett, Amal, Marston, Marvac), providing safety products to a vast number of sectors and applications worldwide.

Published: 31st March 2010