Committed to help drive innovation in the UK manufacturing industry, Autodesk is sponsoring the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) MX Awards 2008. The MX Awards benchmark best practice in UK manufacturing and are widely regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of the mechanical engineering world. Autodesk will be sponsoring the award for product innovation.
This is the first time Autodesk has participated in these awards – although, the category was won last year by one of its customers, Wright Bus. Mike Lucas, responsible for business development for Autodesk Manufacturing Solutions, Northern Europe, says: “We are delighted to be involved in these prestigious awards, and excited to see the design creativity and innovation inherent today in British manufacturing.
“We believe that this industry is taking giant steps in product design and manufacturing through digital prototyping tools which allow manufacturers to experience their ideas virtually before committing to production. This way of working reduces the need for physical prototypes, helping to save time and costs and improving design innovation through digitally analysing, simulating and testing the viability of concepts. We look forward to seeing this in practice through the award entries.”
The category is judged on how products are designed and manufactured as well as their commercial success once they are brought to market.
More support
Along with Autodesk, Barclays, PricewaterhouseCoopers, BP and the government’s Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) are all sponsoring and supporting awards at MX2008. MPs from over ten counties are also supporting the awards and encouraging companies in their constituencies to enter.
The MX Awards have been identifying and rewarding best practice in manufacturing for 25 years. The awards showcase the best manufacturers in the UK, providing all entrants with a free benchmark report detailing how and where they can improve their business processes to achieve best practice. This not only makes the awards unique but has also proved invaluable to previous contestants helping them to assess their businesses against best practice standards helping them achieve manufacturing success.
The awards will be presented in a ceremony at the Dorchester Hotel in London in June 2008.
