YORKSHIRE COMPANIES SHINE AT NDI AWARD CEREMONY

Three Yorkshire companies, MTL Group from Sheffield, Donaldson Company Inc. in Hull and Newburgh Engineering based in Rotherham, have all won prestigious awards at the recent NDI Annual Conference, ‘The Defence Supply Network – A Vital Part of the Nation’s Recovery’, held at the Royal Armouries in Leeds.

Lieutenant General Dick Applegate, a former Ministry of Defence Chief of Materiel (Land) and Quartermaster-General to the Forces, who also gave the after-dinner speech to the 250 conference delegates, presented the NDI Exporter of the Year, Innovation & Technology and Training for Success Awards 2010 to the winning companies. 

MTL Group, which specialises in steel components produced to customer specifications, won NDI Exporter of the Year for the second year in a row. Their win was attributed to their increase in export by an astounding 700 per cent and being the first UK company with TL approval, which allows them to supply the German Army.

The NDI Innovation & Technology was presented to Donaldson Company, for the development of filter systems that have dramatically improved the performance of military vehicles, serving in countries like Iraq, which are affected by sand and dust. The new filters need replacing and cleaning far less often and have produced savings on replacement filters, engine repairs and consumables that are estimated at £53 million.

Precision engineering firm, Newburgh, beat off the competition from five other companies to win the NDI Training for Success Award with their New Era Apprenticeship programme, that provides training above and beyond current apprenticeship programmes. These old style apprenticeships develop people over a longer time and are intended to create a new breed of highly skilled young engineers.

Speaking after the conference, NDI Managing Director, Robin Fox, said ‘The response from those attending the conference this year has been extremely positive. Events such as the NDI Annual Conference help bring together global defence contractors and suppliers, like our member companies, which continues to help generate business and secure jobs for SMEs. This is especially important at this time as the country struggles to pull free from recession.’