Ryan Johnson, Emplas managing director, has been listed as one of the UK’s top manufacturing leaders by specialist magazine, The Manufacturer.
The Manufacturer Top 100 forms an A-Z listing of the UK’s 100 ‘most influential’ manufacturing leaders, with the aim of improving the reputation of the sector and encouraging more young people to enter it. Nominated by the commercial arm of Lloyds Bank, Ryan’s entry was included in the report following judging by an independent panel drawn from a manufacturing peer group, government agencies and academia.
Entries last year included Lord Anthony Bamford, chairman, JCB; Jane Atkinson, operations director, Cape Industrial Services and winner of the CBI First Woman Award in Manufacturing; and James Dyson, founder of Dyson.
Ryan said: “It’s an absolute privilege to make the The Manufacturer Top 100 this year and it’s a fantastic recognition of Emplas’ growth and the innovation that we’re delivering as a team.
“But it is very much that – a team effort. I’m delighted to be part of the Top 100 but it’s the commitment of the Emplas team as a whole which is driving innovation throughout the business and in the products and the service which we deliver to our customers.
“We look forward to driving this process forward to deliver an ever better service and product range to our customers in the coming year.”
Emplas has reported ‘exceptional growth’ throughout 2013 and 2014, continuing into this year. This has been accompanied by sustained investment in its operation, including a half-a-million pound spend on a state of the art Schirmer saw centre, alongside new welders and a digital measuring system in the first quarter of this year alone.
Following a two year project, Emplas also successfully integrated glass supply with its own factory bar-code system, in partnership with Pilkington, allowing the company to plan its own production and delivery schedules more efficiently.
Separately Emplas was shortlisted as one of three finalists in the G15 Awards Fabricator of the Year category, for the second year in succession.
Ryan concluded: “Manufacturing is sometimes let down by its reputation but that’s often based on an out of date perception. The industry has changed significantly with the introduction of new technologies and innovations.
“Emplas has a young and dynamic management team, with a very good mixture of solid experience, and we have significant ambitions for the future, not just this year or next but for the long term. Importantly, those ambitions are as much about our customers as they are about us.”
