Members’ News
29 May 2019
Flowtech Fluidpower appoints Jon Burke as Divisional Director
Flowtech Fluidpower, one of the largest fluid power distributor groups in the UK has announced Jon Burke as the new Divisional Director for its Systems and Services division. This new role will see Jon take responsibilities for Primary Fluid Power Systems in Liverpool, Branch Hydraulics in Gloucester as well as TSL, Lubemec, the newly formed Flow Connect and the on-site service business. Under this new division the businesses will operate independently and as a cohesive team in order to provide complete fluid power solutions to customers across the UK and Europe.
Jon has over 25 years experience in the Fluid Power industry and has a strong background in finance and operations. Having been with Flowtech Fluidpower since its inception in 2014 and prior to this, 15 years at Primary Fluid Power including 2 years as General Manager, he was instrumental in both the financial and operational integration of new acquisitions into the Group between 2014 and 2018. During 2018, Jon returned to lead Primary Fluid Power Systems division, which has gone from strength to strength. Jon is widely known for his ever-positive attitude and infectious personality which have been key factors in further developing the strong team at Primary Fluid Power and strengthening strategic partnerships with both suppliers and customers. As a result, Primary Fluid Power has seen it largest growth for over 10 years.
http://www.fluidpowergroup.co.uk/
SMC wins Technical Innovation of the Year at 2019 MCI Awards
Congratulations to BFPA member SMC who won the Technical Innovation of the Year Award for its EX600W Integrated Wireless Valve System at the MCI Awards on 22 May. This award was sponsored by Hydraulics and Pneumatics magazine and was presented by Ryan Fuller of DFA Media. SMC also sponsored the Distributor of the Year Award (which was won by Pennine Pneumatic Services).
Brammer Buck & Hickman wins Environmental / Energy Efficiency Award at 2019 MCI Awards
Congratulations to BFPDA member Brammer Buck & Hickman for winning the Environmental/Energy Efficiency Award for its Compressed Air System audits at the MCI Awards on 22 May. Bosch Rexroth Ltd sponsored this award.
https://www.brammerbuckandhickman.com/
Holmbury to launch new look Product Overview at Plantworx in June
BFPA member Holmbury Ltd is launching a new product overview at Plantworx 11-13 June 2019 – please visit them on their stand AA26 to pick up a copy.
HydraForce’s Joshua Lambden wins Midlands Apprentice of the Year Award 2019
BFPA member HydraForce Hydraulics Ltd is delighted to announce that their third-year apprentice, Joshua Lambden has won the Made in the Midlands Apprentice of the Year award 2019.
The event, which was held on Thursday 2nd May at the Burlington Hotel in Birmingham City Centre, saw Joshua compete against eight other manufacturing apprentices in the region:
“I was ecstatic to have been shortlisted for the Made in the Midlands apprenticeship award but to go on to win it, has truly blown me away. Manufacturing is an ever-changing environment where the only limit is your imagination. It just goes to show that if you work hard at something, you can achieve anything” said Joshua, after receiving the award.
Photo: Joshua Lambden receiving his award from Charlotte Horobin, Midlands Director, Made in UK
Joshua was competing against other apprentices from companies including Pressing Solutions and Lander Automotive. Ritik Sharma, another third year apprentice from HydraForce, was also shortlisted for the Apprentice award: “As a business, we believe strongly in the value of apprenticeships, not only because they help us build our pipeline of talent but also because apprenticeships provide people of all ages with an opportunity to combine academic learning with practical experience” said Managing Director, Tony Brown, who attended the awards ceremony; “We are very proud of Joshua’s achievement tonight and are confident he has the foundations of a very promising career in engineering”
Following success as Apprentice of the Year at the regional awards, Joshua will now attend the National Awards, which will be held on Thursday 20th June in Coventry.
HydraForce, the manufacturer of hydraulic valves and manifold systems, was also shortlisted for the Export Award at this year’s awards. This follows a successful 2018 where they achieved a record turnover of £109.1m for 2018, exporting £17.4m worth of total sales to Asia last year and £3m worth of product to HydraForce’s Brazilian associate company: HydraForce Ltda.
The Made in the Midlands awards attracted a record number of entries this year, which resulted in 64 shortlisted nominees from fifty different companies. The ceremony consisted of ten different award categories ranging from Apprenticeships to Food & Drink; and celebrates Manufacturing in the Midlands region.
HydraForce partners with Orange1 FFF racing team at Silverstone’s Endurance Race
HydraForce Hydraulics Ltd also featured on the Orange1 FFF racing team car at the second Round of the Blancpain Endurance Series Championship on 9th – 12th May.
The race, which was held at Silverstone, saw Orange1 racing team triumph, finishing at second place on the podium. Orange1 FFF Racing Team, which is officially supported by Lamborghini Squadra Corse, placed the HydraForce logo on top of the Lamborghini Huracàn GT3 Evo at the British held Endurance race.
Orange1 Precision, part of the Orange1 Holding group are a strategic supplier of HydraForce. The company has worked alongside the Italian supplier for over six years (when formerly known as MADO srl), before it became Orange1 Precision after the merger between CAME srl and MADO srl in 2018
The Orange1 team started from third place on the grid, after a successful qualifying session; finishing the race in second place on the podium last Sunday. The race lasts for three hours and sees each of the three Factory drivers of Lamborghini, Giovanni Venturini (Italian); Franck Perera (French) and Phil Keen (English) drive the car for one hour each.
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!