Wakefield Engineering Company, Group Rhodes has won the prestigious MWP Advanced Engineering Award 2014 for Best Automation System.

The award was presented to Group Rhodes Managing Director, Mark Ridgway OBE by actor comedian Marcus Bridgstocke, at the glitzy Metal Working Production Awards held during the MACH 2014 exhibition.

Group Rhodes received the award for the design and manufacture of a complete turnkey automated processing line for producing circle blanks for kitchen appliances, which was inspected by the Secretary of State, Dr Vince Cable, on his visit to the Company headquarters last year. The automated system has provided the customer with a 400% increase in production and the ability to manufacture an increased product range.

The end user (based in Asia) has reported savings in excess of £400,000 from the new system in the first year of operation, resulting from a 50% reduction in the waste of raw material and an incredible 90% reduction in defective products and labour costs.

On winning the award, Mark Ridgway commented “This is a great achievement for Group Rhodes in our 190th anniversary year. We take pride in our ability to design, develop and manufacture bespoke machinery and complete turnkey solutions. This award is a credit to our highly skilled workforce and further enhances our longstanding engineering pedigree.”

Actor comedian Marcus Bridgstocke, presents the Metalworking Production (MWP) 2014 Award for Best Automated System to Mark Ridgway OBE.

Actor comedian Marcus Bridgstocke, presents the Metalworking Production (MWP) 2014 Award for Best Automated System to Mark Ridgway OBE.