ENTRY PACKDeaDline for entries:

ThuRsdAY 31 JulY 2014

register anD enter atwww.ThEmANufACTuRER.Com/AwARds

@tMawarDsUK

Headline sponsor:

Category sponsors:

I n d u s t r yF o r u m

About the awards

Categories

Key information

How to enter

How are the awards judged?

Preparing a successful entry

FAQs

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Deadline for receipt of applications: Thursday 31 July 2014

09 Shortlist announced: Early September

10 Judging Day: Early October

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The Manufacturer of the Year Awards Ceremony & Gala Dinner: Thursday 27 November, The ICC, Birmingham

CoNTENTs

KEY dATEs

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T he Manufacturer of the Year Awards is dedicated to recognising and celebrating industry achievement and highlighting the diversity and strength of UK manufacturing. The awards aim to spread best practice, inspire others and show the important

role UK manufacturing plays in today’s economy.

Manufacturing is not short of great examples of excellence and we know success is achieved by organisations of all shapes and sizes. In recent years, Cosworth, PZ Cussons, Crown Paints, Sheffield Forgemasters and GE Aviation have all taken home top prizes. These awards are a perfect opportunity to showcase your achievements and earn industry-wide recognition for you, your employees and your business.

Through the years, prominent figures from companies including Ford of Britain, Atkins, British Gypsum, Siemens, Manufacturing Advisory Service and Rolls-Royce have all joined the judging panel.

Covering all sectors from automotive to food and drink, with small SMEs to large multinationals taking part every year, the awards provide an opportunity for both celebration and recognition of the success of the British manufacturing industry.

Judged by an elite panel of top manufacturing professionals, 17 trophies were awarded to companies large and small, with winners from a variety of industries including food and drink, automotive, precision engineering, electrical and heavy machinery.

The awards ceremony included a speech from the inspirational Richard Noble, head of the Bloodhound SSC programme. Noble was followed at the podium by Nikki Hesford, founder of the lingerie company Made in Preston. She gave a provocative and challenging speech to sum-up the value of UK manufacturing and the challenges of competitive production in the UK.

Recognition of the dedication, talent and resourcefulness of employees was the name of the game – and so it is no surprise that some of the heartiest celebrations took place at the tables of the winners of the People and Skills, Apprentice of the Year and Young Manufacturer of the Year Awards.

Anna Schlautmann from MBDA was ecstatic as she grasped her trophy for Apprentice of the Year, “I can’t believe the judges said I was an inspiration to women in manufacturing,” she said. “That’s one of my greatest ambitions!”

Keith Herring, Head of IT at Hayward Tyler who won the ICT Award said: “It was a team effort. It’s fantastic for the rest of the company. Everybody put in one hundred per cent of what they had, all their contributions were essential for the company. The support from the highest levels, starting from the CEO right through the entire company helped us achieve the award.”

Having grown in both number and momentum year on year, the awards truly highlight the growing pride, passion and sense of importance within the industry.

with a record crowd of over 800 gathering for a celebration

of UK manufacturing at The ICC in Birmingham, The Manufacturer of the Year Awards 2013 brought the best companies in the industry into one place, to celebrate the achievements of their teams, their business and their industry.

AbouT ThE AwARds

REviEw:ThE

mANufACTuRER of ThE YEAR

AwARds 2013

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w ith awards covering the breadth of the industry there really is a category to highlight every company’s successes.

CATEgoRiEs

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Apprentice of the Year

ICT in Manufacturing

Innovation & Design

Leadership & Strategy

Manufacturing in Action

Medium Sized Enterprise of the Year

People & Skills

Small Sized Enterprise of the Year

Supply Chain Excellence

Sustainable Manufacturing

Through-life Engineering Services

World Class Manufacturing

Young Manufacturer of the Year

Exporter of the Year

Entries are open to all UK manufacturing companies of any size and from any sector.

Entries will close on Thursday 31 July 2014.

Awards are a great way to raise the profile of your business, create employee recognition and increase confidence in your business!

Competing in such a hard-fought contest can be an incredible boost for any business, both internally for the staff and externally with customers and throughout your industry. Participation produces a real buzz and here are six reasons why entering could be good for your business:

Extensive media exposure for your company – local and national

The chance to benchmark your business against peers and competitors

Be portrayed as ‘award winning’

Positive impact on staff throughout the business – boosting morale and team spirit

An opportunity to thank staff and celebrate their hard work, determination and commitment

Highlight to customers and clients that they are associated with the best in class

if you are shortlisted in the World Class Manufacturing category, a fee of £450 will apply as a contribution towards the judge’s time and travel expenses. Companies in this category are judged in the second round with a half day assessment visit at their plant.

There is no cost to submit your entry for this category and only those companies who are shortlisted for the World Class Manufacturing category will be required to pay the judges fee.

who CAN ENTER?

dEAdliNE foR ENTRiEs:

whY ENTER?

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ENTRY fEEs: ThE AwARds ARE fREE To

ENTER

Entering The Manufacturer of the Year Awards is straightforward and easy, enabling any organisation, regardless of size or sector, the opportunity to compete for one of UK manufacturing’s highest accolades.

Follow the steps below to craft your winning entry!

1. Visit www.themanufacturer.com/awards

2. Read the categories page and decide which categories best suit your business and achievements. Download the relevant judging criteria.

3. Download the entry template to help you structure your report (available on the ‘how to enter’ tab.)

4. Write your report for each category, using the entry template provided. Your main report should consist of no more than 2000 words. Make sure to address the judging criteria of your chosen category.

5. To support your written entry, up to five pieces of supporting material can be included (each piece to contain no more than four pages). This material should include information or evidence which you consider to be helpful to the judging process, and typically includes: charts, graphs, photo’s, tables, statistics, screen shots, testimonials.

6. Once you have written your report in the entry template provided and selected your supporting material, you are ready to upload your entry.

7. Visit www.themanufacturer.com/awards and click on the ‘enter now’ tab.

8. Complete the online entry form. You will need to complete a separate online form for each category you enter.

9. Upload your written report in the ‘Upload your entry template’ field.

10. Place your supporting documents into a zip folder and upload as requested on the entry form. The total zip file size must not exceed 20MB.

11. Prepare a high resolution version of your company logo and upload as requested.

12. Click submit.

13. You’ve just entered!

If you have any questions please contact Laura Williams on 01603 327006 or via email L.Williams@sayonemedia.com

how To ENTER

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fiRsT RouNd: marking your written report

Judges are allocated to the award category specific to their specialism.

Each entry will be assessed by a minimum of two independent, unconnected judges.

The judges will evaluate your entry and supporting material and score it against the category judging criteria. The judges will give credit to effective projects, innovative practices and creative ideas rather than big budgets.

Each judge will provide a score for the entry with the total of these scores determining the companies progressing to the second round of judging.

All shortlisted companies will then be invited to meet and engage with each of the category judges.

sECoNd RouNd: presenting to the judging panel

Shortlisted companies will be invited to attend Judging Day to meet with the category judges. Finalists will present for 15 minutes using their preferred media (e.g. PowerPoint, Prezi), followed by a 30 minute question and answer session. Your presentation should relate directly to the category you are a finalist in. The Q&A session is an ideal opportunity for judges to learn more about each company and specific areas of the business relevant to the judging criteria.

After judging day, each set of category judges will discuss and then choose the winner of their category.

Companies that are shortlisted for the World Class Manufacturing category will not be required to attend Judging Day. Instead three judges will visit each of the shortlisted sites for a half day assessment of the nominated plant.

how ARE ThE AwARds

JudgEd?

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ChoosE APPRoPRiATE CATEgoRiEs Think about areas of the business where you have recently improved. Have you taken on a recent sustainability project, have an inspirational leader or a highly effective staff communication culture? Choose your category based on the areas of the business you are most proud of and would like recognition for.

gAThER bACKgRouNd iNfoRmATioN ANd iNvolvE YouR sTAff Establish what evidence, information, testimonials and examples you will need. Ask members of your team to be responsible for a small section of the entry. Entering and winning awards are great for team building so involve as many people as possible when compiling your entry.

sTART EARlY Experience shows that the longer you have to gather supporting data for your entry the better. Put aside some time each week to work on your entry, you’ll be surprised how quickly the evidence mounts up!

REAd ThE JudgiNg CRiTERiAMany entrants don’t pay enough attention to the judging criteria. This is where you will pick up points from the judges, so read the criteria and stick to them.

usE suPPoRTiNg mATERiAlThese awards encourage you to support your entry with extra materials to enhance your case. Take advantage of this, consider including: photographs of products, testimonials from clients, diagrams/charts, press cuttings etc. Try not to make bold statements without evidence to support them. Saying an ‘award winning product’ without any reference to by who or for what will not score marks.

KEEP iT bRiEfFollowing on from above, don’t add lots of attachments! It’s all about quality. The award judges will read through a vast amount of entries, so keep the information you include relevant. Only add material you feel will be beneficial to the judging process. Make sure your entry is clear, concise, easy to digest and stands out for the right reasons. Do not use your organisations sales or marketing brochure as the basis for your entry, as it will probably be irrelevant to your submission and the criteria you are trying to meet.

sPEAK To usWe always love to help companies identify the categories in which they stand the best chance of being recognised. If in doubt, or you want to check if you will be suitable for a specific category then just ask!

sEll YouRsElf!Don’t be afraid to shout about your success. Tell the judges about the great things you have achieved. You and your team did it and you deserve recognition for it.

ThiNK AhEAd If you win or even if you are shortlisted, make the most of it. Get the story on your website, send a press release out, write about it in your company newsletter, tell clients and potential clients. Tell everyone!

PREPARiNg A suCCEssful

ENTRY:

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Q. Why have you changed the way we submit our entry?A. Our aim is to make the entry process as simple and efficient as possible. We have been listening to your feedback and you can now submit your entry online via the ‘Enter’ section of the awards website, eliminating the need for printing and posting.

We have also introduced an entry template for you to use when completing your entry. This will help to simplify and standardize each award entry and provide a much fairer scoring system.

Q. Can I enter multiple categories?A. Yes of course. There is no limit to the number of categories you can enter, however please check the judging criteria for each category to ensure it is suitable. It is not advisable to submit exactly the same entry for multiple categories, as each entry needs to be tailored specifically to the judging criteria.

Q. We entered a category in a previous year. Can we enter again?A. Absolutely. If you have an ongoing activity, a project that develops annually and keeps getting better with time, or was planned as a long term strategy then we encourage entry. You should give details on how the entry has been updated and the progress you have made.

Q. Does my entry have to fulfill all of the category criteria? What if there are some criteria that are not applicable to me?A. We understand that sometimes certain criteria may not be applicable to all types of companies. The criteria helps standardize the scoring process and assists the judges in separating the entries. Applicants run the risk of being marked down if not all criteria are covered, however if you cannot answer a particular section and there is a reason why you have not progressed with one of the criteria then cover that in your entry. Or if you plan to cover the criteria in the future but have not implemented yet then explain your plans. If data is unavailable please explain why, or explain how the company is planning to address such issues. Don’t ignore the criteria, address it so the judges can see the reason behind it.

Q. Who is going to see the information I have provided in my entry?A. Your entries are treated confidentially and will be viewed by only a handful of people. We understand that entries can contain commercially sensitive information and this will not be published or communicated with anyone outside of the judging process. Your entry will be processed by us and

seen by the relevant category judges (judges are informed of the confidentiality of entries).

Q. What happens once my entry has been submitted?A. You will receive email acknowledgement to confirm receipt of your entry.

Q. What happens if I don’t receive a confirmation email after sending in my entry?A. If you have not received a confirmation email within 24 hours of submitting your entry, please email Laura Williams on L.Williams@sayonemedia.com.

Q. How am I judged?A. All entries will be judged on the criteria outlined online. A shortlist will be selected based on the judge’s scores. The shortlisted companies are then invited to attend a second round of judging in October.

Q. How will I know if my entry has been shortlisted?A. All applicants will be contacted during September to be informed if their entry has been shortlisted. Please keep an eye on www.themanufacturer.com/awards as the exact shortlist date will be announced here. Companies will be contacted regardless of whether they have been shortlisted or not.

Q. What do I do if I’ve made the shortlist?A. If you have been shortlisted you will be invited to a second round of judging where you will meet with the judges of your category. You will be contacted by The Manufacturer who will provide you with full details on the second round of judging.

Q. What is the second round of judging and what do I need to prepare?A. For the judging day you will be invited to attend a presentation opportunity in front of the category judges. Finalists will meet the judges in a private room. They will present for 15 minutes using their preferred media (e.g. PowerPoint, Prezi), followed by a 30 minute question and answer session. Your presentation should relate directly to the category you are a finalist in.

Q. When will I find out if I have won?A. The winners will be announced on the evening of Thursday 27th November 2014 at the awards ceremony and gala dinner in Birmingham.

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good luCK! www.themanufacturer.com/awards

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