Companies from Fife and Dundee have been named among the winners at the Scottish Engineering Awards after picking up plaudits for their investment in the future of the industry.
Glenrothes-based Fife Fabrications, the Dalgety Bay operations of major French payments firm Ingenico, and Dundee’s Ravensby Glass all picked up President’s Awards from Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael at the dinner and ceremony at Glasgow’s Mariott Hotel.
A special presentation was also made to the three companies involved in the Aircraft Carrier Alliance Babcock International, BAE and Thales Optronics for their work in constructing two new warships at sites across the country.
The first, HMS Queen Elizabeth, is nearing completion at Rosyth, and due to be formally named by the Queen early in July.
Construction of the second, HMS Prince of Wales, is ongoing.
Prior to the presentations, Scottish Engineering chief executive Bryan Buchan told his guests he was delighted by the recent Scottish Enterprise research which showed the trade was now top of the tree when it came to the career hopes of young people.
“This study of an extensive population of students and their parents, undertaken between June and October of last year, produced some amazing results,” he said.
“Both students and parents their most important advisers placed technology and engineering at the top of a hierarchy which included the professions including law and medicine.”
The young engineer of the year award, supported by the Incorporation of Hammermen of Glasgow, went to Babcock’s Alan Kirk, of Glenrothes, who was praised for his work on the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier under construction at Rosyth.
The structural engineer’s award came in recognition of his role in devising a system to ensure the warship’s two 37-tonne rudders could be lifted and fixed into place accurately and safely a massive challenge given their weight and scale.
Recognition for Fife Fabrications followed its recent investment in a suite of electric brake-presses.
Ingenico was hailed for a 40% gain in efficiency following a study of its processes.
Dundee’s Ravensby Glass was also among the winners, as it puts the finishing touches to a major expansion of its production facilities at the city’s West Pitkerro industrial estate.
Motherwell’s Honeywell Control Systems won the top award, following the “outstanding results” achieved after its application of a short, four-tier management system.
Other winners included Uddingston-based energy sector component maker Q-Mass, and Mitsubishi, which has heavily invested in a new manufacturing unit for air-conditioning systems following a 20-year presence in Livingston.