Member Article

Tharsus Group secures SME accolade

A Blyth-based manufacturer was named Best Smann and Medium-sized Enterprise 9SME) at an awards ceremony.

Tharsus Group scooped the prestigious award at the Best Factory Awards, run by Cranfield School of Management, less than 18 months after the firm’s new full product manufacturing facility was opened.

It recognises a commitment to excellence across all areas of operation that has resulted in reduced build times, better space utilisation and increased output.

Most significantly, the accolade is clear confirmation that Tharsus’ has completed its transformation from back-street metal basher to pioneering leader in the Original Equipment Design and Manufacture (OEDM) sector.

The company manufactures a wide range of products for its customers, from hydrogen energy storage units and electric vehicle charging points to aqueous parts washers.

Judges highlighted 70 per cent skills flexibility, the cell-based approach to manufacturing and continuous improvement as key factors that underpin the success of Tharsus’ end-to-end service.

CEO Brian Palmer said: “We are honoured to have been recognised by such a respected organisation as Cranfield School of Management.

“Delivering such a flexible and collaborative approach for customers on such a wide variety of products requires incredibly robust and effective processes.

“Our original aim in entering the awards was to benchmark against world-class standards, so I’m delighted that the team has made such rapid progress.”

“Customers benefit from collaborative design, proven to improve product, availability of production bandwidth, a well-resolved supply chain and fixed unit cost rather than taking on fixed overhead.”

Dr Marek Szwejczewski, director of the Best Factory Awards, added: “Our awards aim to recognise and reward those factories that have quietly and considerably improved their operations and created world-class plants.

“One of the encouraging trends that can be seen among this year’s winners is that manufacturing is coming home.

“Several of the plants have been able to attract production to the UK by offering competitive labour costs and improved flexibility by compressing lead times, reducing set-up times and developing multi-skilled workers.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Martin Walker .