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Plymouth’s Pipex px® wins top business award
November 24, 2011
Pipex px® wins the Barclays Corporate Award for Financial Management at the Manufacturing Excellence Awards
24 November 2011
Pipex px®, a family-run business from Plymouth, was rewarded for its work on financial management with a top business award at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Manufacturing Excellence Awards, held in London last night (Wednesday 23 November).
The award ceremony was compered by Alistair Campbell, and attended by Mark Prisk MP, Margaret Beckett MP as well as a host of other top business names.
Tom Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Pipex px® said:
"To be announced as a winner of a prestigious Manufacturing Excellence Award, and for the second consecutive year, is both a huge compliment and motivation for our business and our people, and validates our ethos to place "producing excellence" at the heart of everything we do. The owners, staff, suppliers & customers of Pipex px® are delighted to receive our Award, and sincerely appreciate the efforts of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in providing such a challenging yet inspiring process, by which to continually assess, benchmark and improve our business performance within the British manufacturing and engineering sector."
While Stephen Tetlow, Chief Executive of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers said:
“Pipex’s win is hugely encouraging for manufacturing in Plymouth and UK manufacturing more generally.
“The Manufacturing Excellence programme is not just about celebrating manufacturing success around the country, but about providing practical advice for businesses to support them on their journey during these difficult economic times.”
Pipex px® won the Barclays Corporate Award for Financial Management at the Manufacturing Excellence Awards 2011.
The company, which won Best SME at the Manufacturing Excellence 2010 awards, is a family-run business from Plymouth that manufactures pipe systems, bespoke fabrications and structures for a range of applications, from waste water to warships. As well as manufacturing, Pipex offers innovative design, project management, installation and engineering support services, making them one of the most unique SMEs in the country.
The company also operates five separate trading subsidiaries under the Pipex px® brand. The company made a key business acquisition earlier this year of SCS - its main competitor in Scotland. The success of this acquisition, combined with Pipex’s excellent management of a wide range of diverse individual projects, has left this impressive SME with one of the most welcome challenges that can face a business – managing growth.
During the recession the company decided that they wouldn’t cut into its core business, which meant it was able to get back up to speed quickly. In fact the company took on two more sales people during the downturn because they realised that sales would be tougher to close and so they would need extra resource in this area.
In terms of the company’s financial management, there is a strong focus on cash flow, with the company preparing detailed three month cash flow reports, as well as working hard to keep management costs as flexible as possible.
The financial department also work closely with the sales team to ensure that orders placed will make a profit and that products and services aren’t being undersold.
The company has worked hard to implement suggestions following its involvement in Manufacturing Excellence in 2010, and this year’s judges were impressed with Pipex px®’s focus on employees and customers, and found high morale and enthusiasm on the shop floor.
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Manufacturing Excellence programme is the most successful and long established manufacturing support programme in the UK, and the only one that provides a detailed benchmarking and assessment process to help improve manufacturing businesses.
As part of the Manufacturing Excellence programme, companies can get a free consultancy package worth £20,000. Companies that enter are asked to conduct an in-depth self assessment and those who complete one or more of the eight parts receive a free, bespoke and confidential benchmark report. The best companies in each module receive a free visit from a team of expert assessors who verify the audit responses and offer practical advice and suggestions for the business. The winning companies in each category then receive an award at the Manufacturing Excellence Awards.
Manufacturing Excellence is supported by PwC, Autodesk, PP Business Improvement, The ERA Foundation, Lombard, WMG, Arup, and Barclays Corporate.