Trade News
Kings Lynn Company Wins Major Manufacturing Award
EEF Future Manufacturing Awards – South East winners announced
The picture shows John Savage from Foster Refrigerator (centre) with Francis Rottenburg of sponsor British Gas Business (left) and Jim Davison, SE Region Director of EEF.
Foster Refrigerator, a Kings Lynn manufacturer of commercial refrigeration, has been named among the country’s top companies in this year’s EEF Future Manufacturing Awards.
The Norfolk-based company has won the EEF South East Environmental Efficiency Award in recognition of an action plan leading to the achievement of the Carbon Trust Standard – an accolade held by around 300 UK companies.
The annual awards are hosted by EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, and recognise excellence in enterprise, innovation, environmental performance and skills development among UK manufacturers.
Foster Refrigerator, which achieved regional and national success in last year’s EEF awards, leads its industry in both the design of low carbon products and in measuring, monitoring and mitigating its environmental impact. It reports regularly on its progress and spreads the ‘green’ message throughout its supply chain, within its workforce and to local community bodies such as schools.
Chair of the judging panel, Professor Steve Evans, Professor of Life Cycle Engineering at Cranfield University, said the company was an exemplar for the region in embracing the commercial opportunities opening up through environmental efficiency.
“This is just the sort of business that British industry needs,” he said. “If every manufacturer followed this company’s example of involving suppliers, customers and local schools in its environmental activities, Britain would be in a very good position in the fight against climate change.”
Jim Davison, South East Region Director for EEF, commented: “Manufacturing in the South East is increasingly important as an economic driver for the UK. Innovative companies such as Foster demonstrate that well-run manufacturing businesses have a very bright future and are critical to the long term economic success of the region and of the country as a whole.”
Will Pope, Chair of the East of England Development Agency, congratulated the company on its success.
“This success is indicative of the very strong and successful manufacturing sector that exists in the east of England,” he said. “Companies from across the region won five of the six EEF Award categories...and in addition young people working for local businesses scooped the top apprenticeship prizes.”
The regional winners will compete in the national finals, the winners of which will be announced on 27 January at a ceremony at Merchant Taylor’s Great Hall in the City of London.
The EEF South East region is a key area for manufacturing in the UK, with 45,000 companies employing more than 680,000 people. Output is worth over £44 billion out of a UK total of £155 billion.
About EEF
EEF the manufacturers’ organisation is the representative voice of manufacturing in the UK. EEF has a growing membership of almost 6,000 companies of all sizes, employing some 900,000 people from every sector of engineering, manufacturing, engineering construction and technology-based industries.
