HOZELOCK IS NAMED MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR

Birmingham-based Hozelock has been named Manufacturer of the Year in the prestigious annual awards sponsored by The Manufacturer magazine.

The market-leading garden watering, spraying and aquatics company also scooped the awards for Design & Innovation (sponsored by Technology Strategy Board) and Supply Chain & Logistics (sponsored by KPMG) at a glittering awards ceremony last night (Thursday 12 November) at The Tower hotel in London.

These awards come hot on the heels of a Manufacturing Excellence Award in June from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers which was the third MX Award bestowed on the company in the past three years.

So the company’s 250 employees find themselves not only the toast of Birmingham but also the most decorated workforce in Britain.

What’s more, Hozelock has beaten the recession in 2009 by notching up strong sales growth and increased market share as a result of extensive marketing and promotional activity. Industry analysts, GfK reported that the garden watering business grew by 14.8% in 2009 with Hozelock increasing its market share to almost 70%.And it is looking to grow further in 2010 having invested £1.5m this year in new tooling and moulding for a raft of new products including metal hose fittings, a metal hose cart and an Aquaforce range of pond pumps. It is also in the process of establishing a nationwide network of retail Centres of Excellence and has committed a further £2m to advertising and promotion of its innovative Auto Reel and other products in the spring, including a TV campaign.

“It has been a fantastic year for the company,” said Managing Director, Peter Rush, “and to cap it all by being voted Manufacturer of the Year is a tremendous result for everybody in the business.” Other well-known companies on the awards shortlists included Glen Dimplex, Michelin Tyres, Morgan Motor Company, Linpac Packaging andKerrygold Foods.

“All of our employees have worked their socks off this year and it is a credit to them that we have received this wonderful accolade, in the ace of stiff competition from some of Britain’s biggest and most successful companies,” said Mr Rush.

"Our volatile, seasonal business makes for exceptional demands from our trade customers and from consumers," he went on. "We always have to work hard to get everything right and on time – from product design and testing through to manufacturing and distribution. We are thrilled that it is proving to be such a successful formula."

Hozelock, who have also celebrated their 50th anniversary this year, operate from a huge, state-of-the-art 33,400 sq m manufacturing and distribution facility in Midpoint Park, Sutton Coldfield.