Industry award for growth

Fortress Technology (Europe), walked away with the prestigious 2014 Exceptional Sales /Company Growth Award at this year’s Process and Packaging Machinery Association (PPMA) Group Industry Awards held at the end of September.

The annual awards dinner was held at the Motor Cycle Museum on the first night of the PPMA Show, which was held at the NEC in Birmingham. This event brings together industry suppliers and customers to recognise the contribution and achievements of the PPMA member companies.

There were a record number nominations within this category, which is judged by an independent panel of industry based experts. The award was presented by John Kehoe, managing director of TekPak, along with co-hosts for the evening Rory Bremner and Helen Fospero.

Fortress, which started manufacturing at its Banbury site at the end of 2010, manufactures and supplies metal detection equipment for industrial use. The largest sector is the food industry where the use of metal detectors within the production process is an essential part of providing conformance and peace of mind when it comes to satisfying food safety audits.

The judges concluded “Fortress Technology far exceeded its budgeted and forecast sales increase in 2013, which in itself is an exceptional achievement. The fact that this is being done from a UK based manufacturing base is also very heartening”.

Sarah Ketchin, managing director, states: “It was a significant achievement in challenging times. The increased sales, of over 35 per cent, were not unique to any specific order or territory, but split across both the home and export markets.

“The results were not luck either, but the result of a focused approach across all levels of the business, which included establishing KPI’s and targets. The cornerstones of which included: UK Manufacture, Export Growth, Employee Development and Supplier and Customer Partnerships. This award is a true reflection of team effort.”