2021 AEMT Awards Winners Announced

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

The evening did not disappoint, with many commenting that it was the best event to date. Not only was the atmosphere electric, fuelled no doubt by the excitement of being at a live ‘in-person’ event, this year’s awards programme again attracted some truly excellent entries across the seven categories, with all the Finalists being deemed to be of the highest quality by the independent judging panel.

The Judging Session, which was this year held virtually via a Zoom Meeting, once again employed comprehensive assessment protocols and a supporting ‘points scoring system’ to determine the Finalists in each category. This process also identified the category Winners, although this information was kept secret until being revealed by the category sponsors during the prestigious Awards Ceremony.

The 2021 AEMT Awards Winners are as follows:

PRODUCT OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by PLANT & WORKS ENGINEERING
Menzel Motors: IP67 Motors - 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. These 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. Testing was supervised and certified by TÜV that motors endured 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 were tasked with finding a way for the online retail giant, Amazon, to repair and reuse circuit boards on their iBOT robots. The iBOT robots are a warehouse picker crucial to efficiency, and each time a PCB board failed, this was thrown away and replaced with new. 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 are honoured to have been nominated as finalists in the category of service centre of the year. Our small & dedicated team has worked so hard over the last 12 months in very difficult circumstances that have proven to be both physically & mentally challenging to all. Our thanks to every one of them for their efforts. Without them, we would not have achieved our outstanding customer service in the rewind, repair of rotating equipment plus continuing with the development & manufacture of specialised products for the global market. As an industry in general, sometimes we do not always fully appreciate ourselves, what a high level of service we all consistently give to our customers.

SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by DRIVES & CONTROLS
Preformed Windings
Preformed Windings manufacture high voltage coils and armature coils in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Rotherham, UK. Preformed Windings offer the highest quality coils in the world, while maintaining very fast lead times. As a member of the AEMT, we are a trusted partner to the largest OEMs and rewind shops globally while our technical team offer 24/7 service. We are proud to be four-time finalists and now winner of supplier of the year.

CONTRIBUTION TO SKILLS & TRAINING
Sponsored by MUSK PROCESS SERVICES
EMiR Software
Last year the world was hit with the pandemic, an unprecedented event that affected businesses worldwide. This changed the way we worked and the need to accommodate home working was essential. EMiR Software responded swiftly to this industry need and developed the eMiR-Learning Platform, an online learning solution designed and dedicated for our customer base. We created 10 learning modules that allowed users to log in anywhere and at any time, thus ensuring our customers skills and training levels were kept to an optimum during such difficult times. The eMiR-Learning Platform now boasts over 100 users and 150 certificates have been issued and it is growing every day.

RISING STAR AWARD
Sponsored by FANUC UK
Jack Rowe, Fletcher Moorland
Jack Rowe is a conscientious and committed employee who has become an integral part of the Fletcher Moorland team over the past 3 years. Jack has developed a huge 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 our Workshop Manager was absent from the business 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, where employees are happy to be. Jack is truly an asset and has a very bright future at Fletcher Moorland.

DIVERSITY IN ENGINEERING AWARD
Sponsored by PREFORMED WINDINGS
Joint Winner - Central Group
Founded in 1972, 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 for over 70 years. 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 our customers’ and employees’ needs, and aspirations are anticipated and exceeded on all levels. Developing relationships based on trust, consistency, and respect are core commitments.

LIFETIME CONTRIBUTION AWARD
Sponsored by AEMT
Tim Marks (Retired)
Tim was presented with this prestigious award for being 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 President of the AEMT twice in the 90’s. At the turn of the millennium Tim became secretary to the association on a part time basis, which very soon became a full-time job. In the 20 years since, the association has grown from strength to strength, and has become a global association representing, promoting, and supporting members from all over the world. It built up a strong pool of reserves under his stewardship which has enabled the association to weather the turbulence we faced last year. He has been convenor of the standards committee which brought us the new and completely 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, and our after-dinner speaker, Alfie Moore, was simply brilliant. But for me, just seeing so many people from across our sector coming together to recognise and celebrate the excellent work which it collectively conducts every day, is simply wonderful. Sincere congratulations go to each of the Finalists and of course to the eventual Winners.”