Sutton firm Hozelock honoured at awards

By jnewton

A 50-YEAR-old SUTTON firm which specialises in products for watering gardens has made a splash at prestigious business awards.

Minworth-based Hozelock (CORR) marked its half-century with a visit from the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, but celebrations got into full swing just hours later when it was honoured during the Manufacturing Excellence Awards.

Hozelock showed it was among the best companies in the country by landing the logistics and resource efficiency award, one of only ten best practice benchmarks issued by competition organisers, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers whose members include aerospace and medical experts.

"We are delighted," said Hozelock MD, Peter Rush.

"We are also proud to have been short-listed in seven categories in what is our 50th year in business.

"The current difficult economic climate puts an even greater premium on management skills, innovation, customer service and resource efficiency.

"Hozelock invests continuously in all of these and it is very gratifying for our entire team to achieve such recognition in these prestigious awards."

Steve Gasser, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers' regional business manager, added: "The Midlands boasts an excellent reputation within the manufacturing industry and to have businesses based in the West midlands nominated for the awards is testament to their success." Hozelock was described as a 'leading supplier of gardening products, with a reputation for innovation, quality and good value'.

Award winners were announced during a ceremony at The Dorchester in London.