Shorts picks up manufacturing award

Shorts is a division of Bombadier Aerospace

The Belfast-based aerospace firm Shorts has won a major award for manufacturing excellence.

The company was presented with the MX2000 prize by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers at a dinner in London's Cafe Royal on Thursday night.

Shorts took the overall prize for manufacturing excellence, beating off stiff competition from other firms across the UK.

The company also came second place in three separate categories, namely Product Innovation, Resource Efficiency and People Effectiveness.

It's a wonderful accolade for Northern Ireland and for the entire workforce at Bombardier Aerospace Shorts

Ken Brundle

The news comes less than a month after the company announced a multi-million pound expansion which is set to create 1,200 jobs.

The judges said that Shorts' success was a culmination of their excellence in a number of areas.

However, they said an innovation that stood out was Shorts' development of a method of reducing the time required for changing an aircraft engine, from hours to a mere 20 minutes.

A statement praising Shorts was issued by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers.

It said: "The method, whereby engine covers are peeled back like petals received acclaim from the judges, and is set to revolutionise the way aerospace manufacturers across the world perform maintenance on aircraft."

Ken Brundle: Delighted with award

Shorts' executive vice president of operations, Ken Brundle, said everyone was delighted with the award.

"It's a wonderful accolade for Northern Ireland and for the entire workforce at Bombardier Aerospace Shorts," he said.

"You don't win awards like this without the entire team working very hard and very effectively to ensure that we provide true manufacturing excellence."

The MX2000 Awards for Manufacturing Excellence are organised by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers in partnership with KPMG and the DTI's Foresight Programme as a celebration of manufacturing achievements.

Christopher Simpson, chairman of the manufacturing industries division of IME said: "This is a terrific story of a company which has transformed itself into a world class operation."

Company was privatised

Award winners in previous years have included Jaguar Cars, GKN and M4 Data.

Shorts is a division of Canadian-owned Bombardier Aerospace which took over the company when it was privatised 10 years ago.

An investment of about £100m will be made by the company in its Northern Ireland operations over the next two years as it steps up production of parts for jet aircraft.

Bombardier is Northern Ireland's largest manufacturing employer, with 5,763 workers involved in the design and production of aircraft structures and engine covers.