Nifco UK wins top award

The awards, held at the Hilton in Park Lane, celebrated the achievements of companies honoured in 15 categories.

Nifco UK has transformed itself in the past two years and gone from a loss-making company into a generator of healthy profits, with a clear strategy of business improvement. Md of the processor based in Stockton-on-Tees, Mike Matthews, said the company was “absolutely delighted” to have won the award.

He added: “This shows that all the hard work has paid off and is being recognised. It’s the whole team that’s done it.”

Nifco UK, a subsidiary of the Japanese automotive supplier, also picked up the award for Best Training & Development Programme at the awards.

Matthews said human resources is one of the key elements in the Nifco group’s global strategy and Japanese executives were delighted when they heard of the UK subsidiary’s double award win.

Celebrations

Other injection moulders winning awards were Rosti Technical Plastics and Hi-Technology Group. The awards, which are organised by PRW, provided a showcase for clever uses of plastics in products: the Liquid Lever TPE-based irrigation valve; Linpac Environmental’s TwinBin; and the SmartPoint dental obturation point.

Displaying the plastics industry’s sustainability credentials was Axion Polymers and its WEEE recycling plant in Salford.

Philip Law, director of industrial and public affairs at the British Plastics Federation, said he was “honoured and flabbergasted” when presented with the award for Personal Contribution to the Plastics Industry. In October, Law will have worked for the BPF for 30 years.

Comedian and TV panellist Jason Manford as host supplied the laughs of the night. But another individual who had particular reason to smile was Daniel Pierce of Numatic International who was named as Apprentice/Trainee of the Year.

In the supplier categories, awards were presented to Hanson Thorpe, Summit Systems, DuPont, Engel UK and Distrupol.

Guests danced to a live band and could take part in the fun casino sponsored by Gabriel Chemie. Martyn Young of Owen Mumford won holiday vouchers for accumulating the most chips at the casino.

Plastribution’s Mike Boswell also announced John Laight of Smiths Medical as the winner of a trip to Barcelona in a competition for PRW readers who voted in the awards.

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