Siemens is crowned Britain's best factory
29/09/2015 Cranfield University
Siemens Magnet Technology, a world leader in the design and manufacture of magnets for MRI body scanners, has been named Britain's best factory at the 2015 Best Factory Awards (BFA) held today (25 September) in London.The awards ceremony, hosted by Cranfield School of Management in partnership with Works Management magazine, brought together some of the UK's leading manufacturers to celebrate British manufacturing at its best.
As well as winning the accolade of Factory of the Year, Siemens also picked up two further awards: Best Engineering Plant Award and People and Skills Development Award.
More than 30 per cent of the world's hospitals have MRI scanners that have been manufactured by Siemens at their Eynsham plant in Oxfordshire.
Marek Szwejczewski, Director of the Best Factory Awards and Professor of Operations Strategy at Cranfield, said: "Making a superconducting magnet is not an easy job, the potential for production delays is very high, yet the Siemens plant makes it look smooth and effortless. The plant has achieved operational excellence through implementing lean manufacturing and other modern approaches as well as building a motivated and engaged workforce."
Now in their 24th year, the BFA Awards recognise and honour those UK manufacturers who are leading the way when it comes to continuous improvement and delivering superior results for their customers.
Marek went on to say: "We read a lot about the poor performance of UK manufacturing and especially the productivity gap that exists between us and other major manufacturing nations. However a visit to any of this year's award winners quickly erases this misconception. This year's winners show just what can be achieved by adopting best practices, undertaking process and product innovation and encouraging continuous improvement across the operation."
Works Management editor Max Gosney said: "Our winners show some enviable qualities that are hallmarks of UK manufacturing. The refusal to standstill. Tirelessly innovating to ensure their products lead where others follow. The compulsion to seek out the small improvements that add up into a monumental performance gain. And the clairvoyant-like understanding of customer needs and how to exceed them."
The winners and highly commended plants for 2015 are as follows:
Factory of the Year:
Siemens Magnet Technology
Best Process Plant Award:
Fujifilm Speciality Ink Systems Ltd
Best Engineering Plant Award:
Siemens Magnet Technology
Highly Commended:
Vaillant Industrial UK Ltd
Best Electronics and Electrical Plant Award:
Siemens Digital Factory
Best Household and General Products Plant Award:
3M UK Plc
Best SME Award:
Tharsus Group Ltd
People and Skills Development Award:
Siemens Magnet Technology
Supply Chain Award:
Leyland Trucks Ltd
Highly Commended:
Kohler Mira Ltd
Most Improved Plant Award:
Vaillant Industrial UK Ltd
Health & Safety Award:
Diageo Plc
Highly Commended:
Heraeus Electro-nite (UK) Ltd
Export Award:
Fujifilm Speciality Ink Systems Ltd
Highly Commended:
Diageo Plc
Innovation Award:
Arla Foods
Highly Commended:
Kohler Mira Ltd
Energy & Environment Award:
Vaillant Industrial UK Ltd
The Judges' Special Award:
Plastek UK Ltd
Highly Commended:
CP Electronics
Highly Commended:
The Hut Group (Myprotein)
The award winners were named at a prestigious ceremony held at 8 Northumberland Avenue, London. All entrants received a benchmarking report on their plants' performance.
For more information, please visit: www.som.cranfield.ac.uk
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