Helical Technology: a Lancashire success story wins the Queen's Award for Enterprise

Helical Technology Limited of Lytham St Annes, UK has received the prestigious Queen's Award for Enterprise in recognition of their "outstanding achievement in International trade" at an Award Ceremony held at the factory on Thursday 14th June.

This important Presentation was made by Lord Shuttleworth, Lord-Lieutenant of Lancashire as the representative of Her Majesty The Queen before the assembled staff of Helical Technology, and many guests including The Mayor and Mayoress of Fylde, Councillors John and Dawn Prestwich, Mr Michael Wren-Hilton, Chair Local Strategic Partnership and over 30 representatives of key customers and suppliers as well as Helical's overseas ventures in China and India.

Lord Shuttleworth and the guests were given a tour of the manufacturing facilities in Lytham St Annes taking the opportunity to speak to the staff and engineers as they carried out their work. The Presentation Ceremony was held in a marquee in the grounds.

Managing Director, Alistair Morris, spoke of the importance of this Award and thanked everyone in the Company,

"To be chosen in 2007 as one of only 71 recipients from throughout Great Britain is a marvellous achievement for a company of our size, especially when one considers that the winners this year included such diverse luminaries as JCB, Cummins, Motorola, Sunseeker International and the University of Nottingham.

"We take great pride in our engineering design capabilities and the quality of our manufacturing skills and realise that our future survival means that, at the very least we will have to be the equal, if not better than our competitors worldwide. This has prompted us to establish in the last 3 years manufacturing operations in the dynamic markets of China and India.

"Today's celebration gives the Directors the opportunity to thank everyone for playing their part in Helical's achievement.

Lord Shuttleworth emphasised the significance of the Award as recognition of the skill and quality of the engineers and staff at Helical.

Accepting the Award on behalf of the Company Jim Morris the founder of the business recollected the local history of engineering in Lytham. Mr Morris continued

"For over 100 years enterprise has been the culture of the people who have worked on this site. The origins go back to Lytham Ship and Boat Yard. Their ships were to be found on many of the world's great rivers, the Amazon, Congo, Nile, and even today some are still in daily service. At least to my knowledge one plies the Nile as a luxury cruise ship - still steam-powered. We have carried on the innovative engineering tradition with our products which contribute to cleaner emissions in both diesel and petrol engines.

"On a more personal note I would like to thank all the people who have supported me over the past 45 years, the workforce, customers and suppliers. I have made many friends without whose encouragement it would not have been possible to succeed.

"Through all our trials and difficulties I have always had the steadfast support of my wife. Without her enthusiasm and drive today would not have happened.

The family owned business has been based in Lytham St Annes for over 40 years and employs a workforce of 130 engineers and designers all of whom have had their part to play in this Lancashire success story.

Helical has established a strong reputation within the Transport Industry, and their expertise at designing and manufacturing high precision components for propulsion and power generating systems is widely recognised.

Helical's products, actuators and valve rotators, play a significant role in reducing engine emissions and improving fuel consumption and can be found on many modern road vehicles, heavy industrial diesel engines and marine engines.

The award has been achieved as a result of substantial growth in export sales during the past 5 years placing Helical as one of the leading engineering manufacturers in the Fylde region of the UK. Over 95% of Helical production is exported to major blue chip customers in USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, China and India, as well as many European countries.

Quality accreditations of ISO 9001/2000 and Automotive Industry TS 16949 have been achieved by Helical and these are essential for the high level of quality demanded by its customers.