Why should people enter?

The Future Manufacturing Awards are all about celebrating the Manufacturing Industry. We love UK manufacturing, the people, the innovations and the hard work that goes into making some of the world’s finest products. We want people to enter not only to celebrate their successes internally, but to let us celebrate with them. Sharing their stories isn’t only about shouting about themselves but about inspiring the industry and the next generation of manufacturers. The awards are also free to enter, so what is there to lose?

What are the main benefits?

This year there are more reasons to enter than ever! Winning one of our accolades really upholds the business’ name in front of customers and competitors, but aside from the traditional ‘bragging rights,’ our winner receives outstanding press through our Awards PR, a spread in our insights magazine reaching over 5000 companies, exclusive invitations to events and speaking opportunities and an e-learning platform to the value of £2000 with over 25 modules in HR, L&D and H&S to use throughout their organisation.

That doesn’t even take into consideration the benefits that simply entering will do internally – staff feel appreciated when their hard work is applauded proving invaluable when it comes to retention and attracting the best talent in industry.

Why are the awards important?

For us it’s the reputation of manufacturing in the community that we value the most and makes running our awards a priority to us, changing the perception of manufacturing and showing off our industry.

Celebrating success is something we don’t often do, but we should. The EEF Future Manufacturing awards are in their 10th year, the reason why we run the awards is because we see the benefits of taking time to reflect on what you have achieved. The knock on effects can be felt both internally with staff and colleagues but also externally with clients and supply chains. 

What makes the EEF Awards stand out?

We pride ourselves on a rigorous judging process for both our apprentices and business entries. The awards are judged independently by experts in their field and industry peers, making them the most respected of their kind!

What change did winning do to previous winners?

Inspired morale is always one of the big ones with our winners - teams from the shop floor to senior management say they walk with an extra bounce in their step and look forward to the next opportunity or challenge to their work. Increased exposure and networking opportunities throughout the competition has also opened doors to new customers, relationships and collaborations for our entrants. 

What do the judges look for?

The judges want to see how much the project, strategy or innovation was felt throughout the organisation. Backing everything up with examples gives them a clear picture of what took place. They want to see people speak from the heart and show passion for what they do. 

What is your golden tip for manufacturers who want to win?

Use the resources available to you. We have developed free webinars, telephone workshops and entry guidance documents all designed to help you tell your story. We are also impartial to the judging and do not sit on any judging panels so available at all times to provide guidance, support and read your entry drafts for feedback so get in touch.  Many times we hear people say they don’t think their entry is strong enough and after fleshing out their story with us they surprise themselves!

To Enter the Future Manufacturing Awards - visit www.eef.org.uk/Awards or contact the awards team on [email protected].