Cambridge Vacuum Engineering, a manufacturer of vacuum furnaces and beam welders, is among 16 companies shortlisted for the UK's top manufacturing title: The Manufacturing Excellence (MX) Awards 2006. It will now face the scrutiny of a panel of industry experts, chaired by Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya, before finding out who has won, at a black tie ceremony being held in London on 29th June.
Organised annually by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), the MX Awards are backed by numerous organisations including the DTI, Barclays, RSM Robson Rhodes and Sandvik Coromant. They are free to enter for anyone involved in manufacturing and provide all companies taking part with a package of tailor-made benefits. This includes over £10,000 worth of consulting advice in the form of comprehensive benchmarking reports and a free diagnostic 'health check' visit from the DTI's Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS).
Alan Johnson, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, commented: "The future of manufacturing depends on the industry raising investment, applying science and innovation, best practice and skills to create even better products the world wants to buy. The MX Awards show it can be done."
