MU 2017 November December

10 MACHINERY UPDATE november/december 2017 www.machineryupdate.co.uk
PPMA Group Industry Awards 2017
Celebrating outstanding
industry achievements
This year’s PPMA Group Industry Awards were presented on the first night of the PPMA Show in
Birmingham and on this page we highlight the winners of the two individual awards,
while the following pages feature nine further winners in the other categories
Comedian Stuart Francis and Sky Sports’ Hayley McQueen were the hosts
Chairman of the PPMA Group Mark Williamson welcomed guests to the
awards that took place at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham
The Apprentice of the Year award recognises emerging talent within the
processing and packaging, robotics and automation and industrial vision
industries and was presented by Eliza Rawlings, general manager of award
sponsor Festo UK. Winning this award in a hard-fought category was Jake
Martin of Yorkshire Packaging Systems. Unfortunately, Jake couldn’t be at
the awards ceremony and so we have pictured him at his workplace.
Jake was described at the ceremony as an eager, committed, hard-working
person with an excellent working attitude. He shows leadership skills and
demonstrates real added value to the company as the impressive customer
feedback about him being testimony to his success.
Highly commended in this category was Tobias Cowan from HepcoMotion.
The Outstanding Achievement award is given to one manufacturing
professional who has made an exceptional contribution to the industry
over the years. This year, David Norris of DC Norris was presented with
his accolade by the PPMA Group ceo Dr Andrew Mint for his commitment
and passion for the industry and quality of manufacturing, helping to grow
his company from humble beginnings to the multi-million pound global
enterprise it is, today.
Norris has been at the forefront of the food processing industry for over
45 years and during this time his knowledge and enthusiasm has helped
many clients and colleagues to achieve their goals. He is continually striving
to take the company to new levels and has an incredible gift for design
and engineering. Because of this drive, the company has achieved many
accolades and won numerous large contracts with leading food producers
all around the world.
“I’m lost for words; it’s unbelievable to have won this prestigious award,”
he said on the night. “But it also feels like the beginning for DC Norris as we
still have more to conquer with our team of fantastic people.”