Poster-child for British Manufacturing Wins Another Major Award

7th December 2011

AESSEAL was presented with another major business award in a ceremony at the House of Lords, being named the International Trade Company of the Year This follows just two weeks after the company's stand-out success at the Manufacturing Excellence Awards (the 'Manufacturing Oscars') where it was also declared the overall winner.

The 2010/2011 International Trade Awards are a particularly prestigious award, befitting of their venue, which honour the UK's leading exporters who have thrived in defiance of the recent economic troubles. According to a statement on the International Trade Awards' website: Following an unprecedented number of high quality applications the judging panel, chaired by Phil Orford of the Forum of Private Business, confirmed that AESSEAL plc - a leading provider of high-integrity mechanical seals with customers in over 100 countries worldwide - was the outstanding candidate. From humble beginnings as a simple engineering store in 1979, AESSEAL has grown approximately 20% per year every year to become the fourth largest mechanical seal manufacturer in the world. Amazingly, despite breaking the £100 million annual turnover barrier last year, this outstanding growth rate shows no sign of stopping: early projections actually show even higher growth with the company expecting a turnover of approximately £125 million this year. The company's other product ranges include bearing protection capable of extending industrial bearing life by 52%, and water-saving technology which saves industry and the planet 25 billion gallons (115 billion litres) of water per year. The company's founder and Managing Director, Chris J. Rea, O.B.E, picked up the award personally from the House of Lords ceremony yesterday. When asked for comment, he was quick to praise the team he leads: The award is recognition for the whole team who put in the hard work to ensure we continually reach our goals. The win builds upon the company's recent award-success at the Institution of Mechanical Engineer's Manufacturing Excellence Awards (the 'Manufacturing Oscars') where it was named the overall winner, receiving the coveted IMechE Award for Manufacturing Excellence as well as also winning the IMechE Award for Customer Focus. When asked for comment on the company's success, CEO Jonathan Wilkinson said: Our key driver is to deliver our products and services to customers wherever they may be in the world. Much of our success is based on trading internationally, being unafraid to seek out new markets, delivering an exceptional customer experience on a worldwide stage. The growth the team continue to achieve internationally is exactly the kind of success the whole of the UK needs to focus upon in these uncertain economic times.