LPW is celebrating its success at the regional finals of the prestigious EEF Future Manufacturing Awards 2017.
EEF represents British manufacturers, supporting them to thrive, innovate and compete locally and globally, and competition for the annual awards is fierce. LPW, which supplies metal powders for 3D printed items as diverse as cranial implants for the medical sector and parts for Formula 1 cars, was runner-up in the ‘Developing People’ category. The judges recognised the significant work the company is undertaking to manage change in the workplace as it prepares to move to its new, £20 million manufacturing facility in Venture Fields, Widnes.
“We operate in a young, dynamic industry,” says Laura Cordwell, LPW’s HR Manager. “People with the combinations of skills we need don’t exist yet, so we’re working hard to develop our team so that they can fulfill these roles. We’re not only providing talent for the future of the 3D printing sector, we’re giving our people skills that will enhance their career opportunities throughout their working lives.”
One of the company’s recent apprentices was among the final few up for the ‘Higher Apprentice Award, Final Year’, and the only one from a Cheshire SME. Robbie Charmer, 20, from Grangeway, Runcorn, was delighted to have made the shortlist. “I was very proud to be able to represent LPW at that level,” says Robbie, who studied at Riverside College, graduated with an HNC in Mechanical Engineering and is now one of LPW’s Production Team Leaders.
LPW will be moving to its new factory early in 2018, and expects to increase its workforce by an additional 120 by the end of 2019.