On Wednesday the 28th of November 2018, BEAMA announced this year’s winner of the young manufacturer award at the joint BEAMA and Gambica annual lunch, the winner was Thomas Hunt from MK electric.
Thomas joined the Honeywell business in 2014 at the age of 16, undertaking an apprenticeship in engineering, with a specialism in moulding. During his apprenticeship, Thomas completed his Engineering Maintenance NVQ Level 2 and 3 from then completing two prestigious courses at RJG Technologies Ltd; Fundamentals of Injection Moulding and High-Performance Injection Moulding.
Thomas was nominated by is colleagues at MK electric for a variety of reasons, but one of his greatest successes was championing the introduction of a new, completely electric, moulding machine and automated inspection camera. By optimising the new tooling and moulding machine, Thomas reduced the cycle time by a massive 35%. This has provided a material productivity benefit of 32%, which equates to millions more units produced per year. As a result, the standard part cost has reduced by 33%, providing savings of almost £40,000 to the business.
Commenting on the win, Thomas said: “I am absolutely delighted to be presented with this award. Since I started my apprenticeship with MK Electric, I have not stopped learning new things, thanks to the support and knowledge of my mentors and peers, and I am honoured to be recognised for my achievements with such a prestigious award.”
David Knott, process development engineer at MK Electric, added: “We are immensely proud of Thomas for this impressive accolade. He is perhaps the most outstanding apprentice we have ever seen in our area of the business – he has a maturity far beyond his years, consistently goes above and beyond the call of duty, and has considerably
The Young manufacturer award promotes merit in career and education development by recognising the achievements and efforts of individuals who have excelled in: research & development, process engineering, marketing campaigns, customer service and team building.
BEAMA agree it is critical to the future of our industry to nurture young talent in the sector and support young engineers in BEAMA member companies by rewarding them for their achievements, and in helping them to engage with the wider industry.
For more information about the Young Manufacturer Awards, please contact [email protected]
