The taste of success
Festo Training and Consulting wins
Company of the Year at the 2011 Food Processing
Awards, as judged by the magazine’s readers. The accolade was awarded to Festo at the
ceremony held after the Appetite for Engineering conference for Festo’s continued business
success, during a period of decline within the UK fluid power market.
T
he Food Processing Awards has
been running for 28 years and is
well respected as the definitive
award scheme for the food
processing and manufacturing industries.
The awards are judged on the highest
number of votes from readers of Food
Processing Magazine.
This year’s awards ran alongside the
Appetite for Engineering conference
which had a strong emphasis on skills
development. In addition to Festo, three
of Festo’s customers were also nominated
with Unilever winning the Skills
Development award, for its continued
professional development programme for
the next generation of engineers.
During 2009, the global recession hit the
manufacturing and engineering sector
hard, with the UK market for fluid power
falling by 22%. Despite this, Festo has
outperformed the market and since 2004,
has continued to increase its market
share. 2009/2010 was a record year and
market share also grew. Key to this
success has been the company’s focus on
its people.
Gary Wyles, Managing Director at Festo
Training and Consulting comments:
“Everyone knows how they contribute to
the company and shares in our success.
It’s not just about financial performance
though, we are well known for training
our people through our own 'Fit for
Change' development programme and
have a strong and open communications
and coaching culture that ensures people
are supported and personally
developed.”
Gary Wyles comments on receiving the
award, “We are very proud to have
received this award. It is testimony to all
the hard work that has been put into
developing our employees and providing
them with the necessary skills and
support to effectively meet our company
objectives. However, ultimately the award
goes to the employees themselves for all
their hard work and loyalty to the
organisation.”
Festo wins Company of the Year Award