Southport engineering firm Lattimer has been shortlisted for a prestigious European business accolade and is looking for support in an online poll.
The firm is urging the public to vote online via the awards website now: http://www.businessawardseurope.com/vote/detail-new/the-import-export-award/21459
The Southport, Merseyside firm which began trading in 1937 is now a world-leading precision engineer with a twin facility in Vineland, New Jersey, USA. The group employs more than 130 people with a £10.6million turnover.
After recently securing status as a ‘National Champion’ in the 2015/16 European Business Awards it is now in the running for a ‘Ruban d’Honneur’ award – handed out to 110 firms considered elite in their field. In the final stage of the competition Lattimer now needs to secure as many votes as possible for its online video submission which is live until 5pm on Wednesday, March 01.
Lattimer Holdings CEO Stephen Waterhouse said the firm is competing in the ‘Import/Export’ category with exports currently accounting for more than 96pc of turnover, across 56 countries.
“We are appealing to all our business contacts, colleagues and the local community to get behind Lattimer,” said Mr Waterhouse. “We simply need people to log online and vote for us. We believe Lattimer has a strong entry with considerable business growth over the last year including a 31pc increase in UK sales and 34pc increase in US sales, almost all attributed to exports. Our roots our firmly fixed in the North-West region, where we have been a long-term employer for decades. During that time, we have developed a reputation as an innovative world-leading precision engineer. It is an honour to have been identified as a National Champion amongst a field of thousands of UK businesses, but we are now looking to kick-on and land the ‘Ruban d’Honneur’ award.”
Mr Waterhouse said Lattimer is currently recording one the most successful periods in the company’s history. “We are hugely passionate about what we do,” he said. “This is reflected in our long-standing workforce, many of whom joined as apprentices, and our in-house training academy designed to upskill a future generation of engineers. We are urging people who are also passionate about UK PLC, manufacturing, innovation, exporting and skill development and employment for local people to show their support by voting for us.”
Lattimer was originally founded as a general engineering company. For more than 30 years it has been at the forefront of design and manufacture of components and assemblies for the glass container industry. In the last 12 months Lattimer has manufactured more than 3,000 different types of component parts for customers.
The European Business Awards was set up in 2007 to acknowledge the most innovative businesses on the continent by promoting success, innovation and ethics in the European business community. In 2015/16 organisers received submissions from more than 30,000 businesses across 34 countries before whittling entries down to 636 National Champions, with 65 from the UK.
Past winners of the ‘Ruban d’Honneur’ award come from a diverse range of industries including pharmaceutical, engineering, fashion, cosmetic, online businesses, manufacturing and transport.
For more information contact Mark Hailwood on +44 (0)1704 535040, email mark.hailwood@lattimer.com or visit the website www.lattimer.com.
Notes to editors
Lattimer background
Lattimer is a globally renowned precision machinist. It designs and manufactures more than 20,000 component parts predominantly for the glass container manufacturing industry. The main sector it operates in is bottled glass manufacturing. It is effectively a one stop shop for IS variable equipment. Lattimer employs 120 people across two manufacturing facilities located in Southport North West England and in New Jersey, USA overseas sales account for 92pc of all sales. Turnover for the group is circa (£10m * subject to change). It is understood to be Southport’s largest manufacturer. Lattimer was originally founded in 1937 as a general engineering company. For more than 30 years Lattimer has been at the forefront of design and manufacture of components and assemblies for the glass container industry. Deals in 2014 saw Lattimer expanding its presence in the Southeast Asian market, with particular success in the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand. Europe remains a strong trading market with further sales success in the Americas and China.