Made in the Midlands awards show manufacturing is alive and kicking

Now in their sixth year, the Made in the Midlands awards celebrated the very best of manufacturing has to offer, giving recognition for investment, innovation, growth, export and diversity across the sector. 2014 saw record levels of entries.

Collectively the 12 recipients of the main Manufacturing Achievement Awards have won over £10m of new business this year alone and have had the confidence to invest a total of over £3m in equipment, processes and their people.

The overall winner was Aldridge-based Chemique Adhesive & Sealants. The firm is a leading manufacturer and supplier of high performance industrial adhesives and adhesive application equipment.

Following a sustained period of domestic growth Chemique implemented an overseas growth strategy selling to markets in Europe, North America and the Middle East. This has accounted for a 47 per cent growth in exports and almost 20 per cent of its total turnover. Staff levels have also increased to keep pace with demand.

Marketing manager Darren Lambert said: "We are a mixture of shocked, surprised and delighted. Working for a great manufacturing company and taking our products all over the world from our base here in the Midlands is something that we're really proud of."

Other winners included Wolverhampton based Jenks & Cattell Engineering and Walsall's Phoenix Tooling & Development, Threeway Pressings from Tipton and High Speed Lasers from Stourbridge.

Made in the Midlands chief operating officer, Charles Addison said: "Manufacturers in this region are doing amazing things that they simply regard as a normal days work. To some extent, that's quite right, but it's our duty to ensure that their stories demonstrate that we still make things here in the Midlands and make them better than anybody else."

This was demonstrated in the fiercely contested Young Inventor category. The runner up George Starkey from Black Country UTC, set up work experience with F1 team Red Bull to develop designs for a new wheel nut that will speed up change over times and increase safety.

He was only just beaten to the chequered flag by apprentices Josh Watson, from Faurecia, at Fradley near Lichfield, and Sam Parke, from Neida Products in Stoke, who worked together at In-Comm Training to impress the judges with an fully operational interlocking tool divider.

Charles Addison said: "The message that came across loud and clear in every single acceptance speech was that manufacturing is alive and kicking. There's so much to be positive about including the ingenuity of our young inventors and the move to encourage young women to consider engineering as a credible career choice."

To that effect two inspirational women were honoured for their success and their encouragement to the next generation of female engineers. The runner-up was Flo Wood managing director of Datalink Electronics in Loughborough who has risen to the top and passionately believes that young women should be encouraged into engineering.

The winner was Linda Bates a project director at B Hepworth in Redditch. Her skills have helped the company to become one of the leading suppliers of bespoke wipers to the rail industry. She couldn't attend the event, so her award collected by two of her young female colleagues who paid tribute to the company's equality values.

Mr Addison concluded: "One of our winners said that the Midlands based manufacturers within the room, collectively, have the skills to make absolutely anything – I couldn't agree more."

The awards took place on Thursday in the main auditorium at Wolverhampton Science Park. The guest speaker was Lorely Burt, MP for Solihull.

Made in the Midlands - the voice of manufacturing, is the industrial membership body for managing directors of Midlands-based manufacturing SMEs.

Overall award winner Chemique, based on the Empire Industrial Park in Aldridge, was established in 1985 and has become a leader in the manufacture and supply of high performance industrial adhesives and adhesive application equipment.

Following a sustained period of domestic growth the company implemented an overseas growth strategy targeting markets in Europe, North America and the Middle East.

The management team devised a three to five year strategy focusing on market research and key product brands that could add value overseas. Essentially offering new adhesive technologies that differentiated to those on offer and mapping out the best route to market.

As a result, from the company's base here in the Midlands, it is now supplying adhesives in Russia, Turkey, Poland, Spain, Lithuania, UAE, Oman, USA, Canada and Mexico.

This is a 47 per cent growth exports accounting for almost 20 per cent of the total turnover. Staff levels have also increased to keep pace with demand.