AEMT Awards update

AEMT Awards: and the winners are...

The winners of the 2021 AEMT Awards were announced during a gala presentation ceremony in Coventry on Thursday 18th November. Attended by around 200 people from across the electrical and mechanical trades, the event proved to be a great evening of reward and celebration.

Having been postponed from its original 2020 dateline, due to the pandemic, there was a great deal of anticipation with attendees eager to reunite and re-engage with their colleagues and peers.

The evening did not disappoint, with many commenting that it was the best event to date. The atmosphere was fuelled, no doubt, by the excitement of being at a live ‘in-person’ event and the awards programme attracted some excellent entries across the seven categories.

The judging session was held virtually and employed comprehensive assessment protocols and a supporting ‘points scoring system’ to determine the finalists in each category and then the winners.

The 2021 AEMT Awards winners were as follows:

PRODUCT OF THE YEAR – Sponsored by PLANT & WORKS

ENGINEERING

Menzel Motors: IP67 motors which defy flood conditions. Developed for remote water pumping stations, where accidental flooding can occur, Menzel IP67 protected motors are also occasionally used in very harsh industry conditions. The motors are not capable of operating whilst under water, due to their external fan, however, as soon as the flooding subsides, they can be started. The motors have been tested and certified by TÜV as being able to endure 24-hours under water – without any water entering the motor or terminal box.

PROJECT OF THE YEAR – Sponsored by EMiR SOFTWARE Fletcher Moorland: iBOT PCB card refurbishment. Due to its commitment to future sustainability, and helping its customers achieve this by finding innovative solutions to their problems, Fletcher Moorland was tasked with finding a way for the online retail giant, Amazon, to repair and reuse circuit boards on its iBOT robots. The iBOT robots are warehouse pickers, which are crucial to efficiency, and each time one of their PCB boards failed it was thrown away and replaced with a new one. The company has been able to successfully repair over 600 iBOT cards in under 12 months, saving both money and having a positive impact on Amazon’s carbon footprint by reducing waste.

SERVICE CENTRE OF THE YEAR – Sponsored by ABB

ADC Electrical

ADC Electrical’s small but dedicated team has worked hard throughout the pandemic in circumstances that proved to be both physically and mentally challenging. Without the dedication of every member of the team, ADC would not have achieved its outstanding customer service in the rewind, repair of rotating equipment in addition to being able to continue with the development and manufacture of specialised products for the global market. Its customers have really appreciated the high level of service the company is able to consistently offer. SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR – Sponsored by DRIVES & CONTROLS

Preformed Windings

Preformed Windings manufactures high voltage coils and armature coils in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Rotherham. It is able offer high quality coils while maintaining very fast lead times. As a member of the AEMT, it is a trusted partner to many OEMs and rewind shops globally, while its technical team offers a 24/7 service.

CONTRIBUTION TO SKILLS & TRAINING – Sponsored by MUSK

PROCESS SERVICES EMiR Software

The pandemic quickly changed the way we all worked and highlighted the need to accommodate home working. EMiR Software responded swiftly to this need and developed the eMiRLearning Platform, an online learning solution designed and dedicated for its customer base. It created ten learning modules that allowed users to log in anywhere and at any time, to ensure that skills and training levels were kept to an optimum. The eMiR-Learning Platform now boasts over 100 users and 150 certificates have been issued and continues to grow.

RISING STAR AWARD – Sponsored by FANUC UK

Jack Rowe, Fletcher Moorland

Jack Rowe is a conscientious and committed Fletcher Moorland employee who has become an integral part of the team over the past three years. Jack has developed a passion for engineering and has spent time fully immersing himself in the business, going over and above his administration role. Jack goes the extra mile to help his colleagues and demonstrated this when the Workshop Manager was absent due to illness. Jack took on the role to manage time, served engineers, and went on to identify potential improvements and devise solutions which would contribute to a more efficient workplace.

DIVERSITY IN ENGINEERING AWARD – Sponsored by

PREFORMED WINDINGS

Joint winner - Central Group Central Group is a family owned and managed business specialising in the maintenance, repair, and refurbishment of motor, drive and pump systems. Through strong vision and values, and by putting people at the heart of the business it has steadily grown since brothers Tim and Shaun Sutton took control in 2001, following the retirement of their father. Equal opportunities and a strong commitment to continuous personal development has ensured exceptional staff retention and a dedicated and loyal workforce.

Joint winner - Heasell Electromechanical Services Heasell has built a reputation for fast, reliable service to all branches of industry, agriculture, and commerce. The company’s industrial department undertakes the installation, maintenance, and repair of all types of electrical, electronic, and mechanical equipment. As an equal opportunities’ employer, a key objective is to maintain a working environment where customers’ and employees’ needs, and aspirations are anticipated and exceeded on all levels – developing relationships based on trust, consistency, and respect.

LIFETIME CONTRIBUTION AWARD – Sponsored by AEMT

Tim Marks (Retired)

Tim was presented with this award as the person who has probably put more work into the AEMT than anyone else in the history of the organisation, except maybe the founders. He served on the AEMT council in the 80’s and was AEMT President twice. At the turn of the millennium Tim became secretary to the association on a part time basis, which soon became a full-time job. In the 20 years since, the AEMT has gone from strength to strength, and has become a global association representing, promoting, and supporting members from all over the world. He was convenor of the standards committee which developed a new and overhauled repair standard for rotating machinery; the first standard to mention the circular economy and the importance of considering a repair over a replacement.

Commenting on the awards dinner, Thomas Marks, Secretary and General Manager at the AEMT said: “We were delighted with the entire event from start to finish. The venue, food and drink were all excellent, the stage-set and overall presentation was fantastic. For me, seeing so many people from across our sector coming together to recognise and celebrate the excellent work which it collectively conducts every day, was wonderful. Sincere congratulations go to each of the finalists and of course to the winners.”

The ‘call for nominations’ for the 2022 awards programme will open in the Spring, so if you or your company have a product, project, service or other achievement which you feel is deserving of industry-wide recognition, be sure to submit an entry. The PR value associated with being a finalist is highly desirable, but if selected as a winner, the value is even greater! What have you got to lose?

For more information on the AEMT Awards and to review the image gallery from the recent ceremony, please visit:

www.aemtawards.com

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