The processing and packaging machinery industry celebrated another year of outstanding achievement and business excellence at the 2018 PPMA Industry Awards gala event at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel on 25 September.
Hosted by TV personality and comedian, Brian Conley, this year’s PPMA Group industry awards continue to recognise manufacturing excellence, technical innovation, entrepreneurship, customer service, sales and training support, as well as outstanding contribution to the processing and packaging machinery sector.
The highlight of the evening was the announcement of the much-anticipated and prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented to Dudley Bradley, the Executive Chairman of Ytron-Quadro (UK) for his forward-thinking and long-standing commitment to the industry.
During his long and esteemed career, Bradley, who started as a process engineer, worked his way through the ranks before forming Ytron-Quadro in 1984; a business, that under his leadership, has experienced phenomenal growth and success.
He has also continued to work tirelessly over the years to support the industry, playing active roles in the PPMA and the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE).
Competition was extremely strong in all areas, while a host of exciting and ground-breaking new technologies and solutions presented in the series of ‘Innovations Awards’ categories gave the judges a particularly tough job.
New for 2018 was the PPMA BEST (Business, Education, Skills and Training) Award, which was introduced to highlight the importance of addressing the skills shortage. This inaugural award went to Evolution Bottling and Packaging Solutions in recognition of its excellence in commitment to employee training and skills development.
Continuing the theme of industry education, Kyle Constable, an apprentice at Olympus Automation (OAL) was named Apprentice of the Year 2018.
“Once again, we have been overwhelmed by the number and quality of submissions we have received this year for our Awards, in terms of manufacturing excellence, technical innovation, service and support, which clearly indicates that our sector has much to celebrate,” said Dr Andrew Mint, CEO of the PPMA Group.
“However, when looking to the future, we must recognise the challenges that we all face in terms of the skills gap. Therefore, it has been hugely encouraging to see how organisations in our sector are rising to this challenge and we are delighted to recognise this commitment with the introduction of our new PPMA BEST award, as well as honouring our young apprentices; all of whom represent the lifeblood of our industry,” he added.
The 12 award categories were judged by an independent panel of industry experts, professionals, engineers and end users.
The PPMA Industry Award Winners 2018:
Innovative Processing System
Winner: Packaging Automation
Innovative Packaging Machinery
Winner: Brillopak
Highly commended: Adelphi Masterfil
INNOVATIVE ROBOTIC SOLUTION
Winner: Gebo Cermex
Highly commended: Olympus Automation
INNOVATIVE SOLUTION
Winner: Olympus Automation
INNOVATIVE ANCILLARY EQUIPMENT
Winner: Robatech Gluing Technology
EXPORTER OF THE YEAR
Winner: Russell Finex
EXCEPTIONALS SALES PERFORMANCE
Winner: Gordian Strapping
Highly commended: Riggs Autopack
PPMA BEST (Business, Education, Skills & Training)
Winner: Evolution Bottling & Packaging Solutions
Highly commended: 4Matic Design & Manufacture
Highly commended: Winkworth Machinery
OUTSTANDING CUSTOMER SERVICE
Winner: Agrimech
Highly commended: Interactive Coding Equipment (ICE)
Highly commended: Russell Finex
Highly commended: Yorkshire Packaging Systems
ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR
Winner: The Adelphi Group of Companies
Highly commended: Garcon Wines
APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR
Winner: Kyle Constable – Olympus Automation (OAL)
Certificate: Ben Priest – Simmatic Automation
Certificate: Joe Goldthorpe – Gripple Automation
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Winner: Dudley Bradley, Executive Chairman of Ytron-Quadro (UK)
