Member Article

World-leading digital manufacturer Protolabs claims a trio of national manufacturing prizes

Being the world’s fastest source for custom prototypes and low-volume production parts has helped a Telford company secure a trio of national manufacturing awards.

Protolabs, which this summer released investment on a £5m expansion at its Halesfield site, secured the ‘Achieving Customer Value’ title at the recent TMMX Awards; the UK’s largest and most rigorous industry awards programme.

Nearly 1000 people were present at the high-profile event in Liverpool to hear how Protolabs’ success was the result of its excellent customer service and continuous investment in the latest technology, bespoke design software and the skills of its people.

The celebrations did not stop there for Protolabs, with two of the company’s engineers publicly recognised as inspirational industry leaders.

Jon Worrall and Saleem Shariff are now part of an elite group called ‘The Manufacturer’s Top 100’, individuals identified as ‘manufacturing champions’.

Bjoern Klaas, Vice President and Managing Director of Protolabs Europe, was delighted with his company’s performance: “As a world-leading digital manufacturing supplier, our customers are the primary focus of everything we do. To have been recognised for achieving this by such an experienced judging panel is testament to the magnificent work of the whole team at Protolabs.

“It also underlines the tremendous journey we have been on in Telford since operations began here in 2005. Every year we have grown the business and we continue to invest in our operations. At the heart of all this are our people who help turn a vision into a reality.”

He continued: “This TMMX Award is a great endorsement for the work they do, the skills they show and the innovative service provided to customers across the whole of Europe.”

Jon Worrall and Saleem Sheriff had even more reason to celebrate when they were both named in The Manufacturer’s Top 100 list, with Jon being highlighted as an unsung hero and a driver of organisational change.

The Manufacturing Engineering Manager, who began his career as an apprentice toolmaker, is now responsible for a team of dedicated engineers and technicians, along with 145 high-speed CNC machines and 65 injection moulding machines.

Identified as being an innovator by judges, Saleem joined Protolabs in its start-up days. His dedication to delivering results for customers led to him being hand-picked to set up a new division dedicated to industry-leading Technical support.

Saleem, who is now the Application Engineering Manager for Northern Europe, concluded: “When you start out on your career, you never expect to be featured as one of the UK’s most inspirational industry leaders – it’s a very proud moment.

“I just love what we do at Protolabs and how we play a role in bringing new technology and life-changing products to market.”

For further information, please visit www.protolabs.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Russ Cockburn .