Members’ News
29 Apr 2019
HydraForce shortlisted for Export & Apprentice Awards 2019
Birmingham-based manufacturer and BFPA member HydraForce Ltd, announced on 18 April 2019 that they have been shortlisted for two of this year’s Made in the Midlands Awards.
The company, which produces hydraulic valves and manifold systems, has been nominated for Export Award of 2019, alongside seven other local businesses. This nomination follows a successful year for HydraForce where they achieved a record turnover of £109.1m for 2018, an increase of 39% on the previous year’s figures:
“We saw staggering levels of growth last year, thanks to our UK and European partners” explains Tony Brown, Managing Director. “Our Exports continue to be a growth market and the company is taking advantage of significant opportunities, including new distribution in emerging countries and the growth of opportunity in some markets which have, to date, been untapped. We currently export the majority of our products overseas, with approximately 80% going to Europe and India.”
HydraForce also has two apprentices who have been shortlisted for the Made in the Midlands Apprentice of the Year Award. The apprentices, Joshua Lambden and Ritik Sharma, are in the third year of their engineering apprenticeships at HydraForce:
“I am ecstatic to have been shortlisted for this award” said Joshua, who is studying Electrical Engineering. “My apprenticeship has and continues to be an exciting and educational journey that has allowed me to push myself and accomplish great things. The fact that HydraForce has put me forward for this award shows how dedicated the company is towards their apprentices and I feel great pride in being nominated for such a prestigious award”.
Photo: (LtoR) Ritik Sharma and Joshua Lambden
The HydraForce apprentices are two of nine nominees who will be competing for the award in May with the other contenders shortlisted from other companies in the region.
“I am extremely honoured to be shortlisted and I think it truly highlights the impact an apprentice can have on a large scale business like HydraForce,” said Ritik Sharma, Mechanical Engineering Apprentice. “As well as the support and training the company provides, HydraForce allows apprentices to grow professionally and as individuals. This award nomination shows HydraForce’s recognition towards its apprentices and reinforces the idea that doing an apprenticeship is the best route to a successful career in engineering”.
The Made in the Midlands awards attracted nearly seventy applications this year, which have since been reduced to the 64 shortlisted nominees, who are from fifty different companies.
The award ceremony will take place on Thursday 2nd May at The Burlington Hotel in Birmingham, where the winner of the award categories will be named.
Yuken Europe launch new website
BFPA member Yuken Europe has announced the launch of its new website www.yuken.europe.com
The new website features a host of changes to enhance the user experience. The layout of the website has undergone significant changes and both the product and services pages are much easier to navigate. All Yuken’s products now contain individual descriptions and full product data sheets dedicated to that product for ease of information on their entire range.
Do you have a company news story we could feature?
BFPA would like to help publicise our BFPA and BFPDA members’ company news (free of charge to members) in our newsletter and / or on our website news page and want to feature more news stories from our BFPA and BFPDA members. Each news item will be set alongside a photo / logo / image (which you would ideally supply) and archived by date. We may also be able to publish on our news pages or send out to a wider media list as well on your behalf.
We would love to hear from you if you have any suitable UK fluid power industry news stories such as:
- Senior staff appointments
- New buildings being opened
- Awards being won / presented
- New industry sales partners announced
- New acquisitions / alliances etc.
- Innovative or unusual projects or case studies
Please send any news items to Sarah Gardner sarah@bfpa.co.uk – we look forward to hearing from you soon!