GRIPPLE’S LONG SERVING ENGINEER ACCEPTS THE COMPANY’S FOURTH QUEEN’S AWARD
A Gripple employee, who for almost 15 years has been involved in developing the Sheffield company’s unique, global leading wire joining products, was picked to accept its second Queen’s Award for innovation – this time recognising the company’s success in challenging the traditional suspension of construction services.
South Yorkshire’s Lord Lieutenant, David Moody presented the Queen’s Award bowl to John Makin, who joined the company as a quality engineer in 2000, after spending two years under contract as an IT technician and is now a design engineer in Gripple’s Ideas and Innovation department.
John said: “My time with Gripple continues to be an exciting and rewarding journey. It was an honour to accept this award on behalf of everyone associated with the company, at home and abroad, who have worked so hard to make Gripple such a success and universally recognized for its innovative ethos, which this second award demonstrates, as even more icing on the cake!”
In the employee-owned company’s dedicated Ideas and Innovation department a team of free-thinking engineers, with a ‘can do’ attitude, continually develop pioneering solutions to customers’ problems in suspending mechanical, electrical and seismic services, delivering significant cost, environmental and health and safety benefits.
Mark Edmonds, Gripple’s managing director, who accepted the Queen’s Award citation on behalf of the company, said: “This has been a momentous year, not only for the country but also for Gripple! We are extremely proud that the company has been recognised in a way which means so much to its fully committed staff. Because the company will always invest in innovation we will continue to expand globally.”
Gripple has received four Queen’s Awards and is one of select group of businesses to have secured an award in each of the scheme’s categories – innovation, international trade and sustainable development. This year Gripple was selected as one of the UK’s leading innovators to feature in the Make it in Great Britain exhibition at the Science Museum this summer to showcase the best in British manufacturing and won a Ruban d’Honneur in the European Business Awards.
