Rochdale-based Holroyd Precision Ltd was recently named a winner of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, the UK’s highest accolade for business success.

Holroyd received the award for International Trade, having achieved year-on-year growth in exports. It was given in recognition of the company’s achievements in developing new markets globally, creating new machine tool technologies with particular focus on those markets, and for Holroyd’s successes in exporting its specialized grinding and milling machines to organizations around the world. Over the last few months alone, Holroyd has secured export orders worth in excess of £7 million.

“We are extremely proud and honoured to have won what is clearly the UK’s most prestigious business award,” said Holroyd Precision’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Tony Bannan. “In securing the award, we were able to demonstrate significant growth in overseas trade, something that was achieved in spite of challenging global trading conditions. I would like to thank our staff here in Rochdale and our various support teams globally for the hard work and dedication that has made winning the Queen’s Award possible.”

Holroyd’s recent £3 million development of the Zenith 400 helical profile grinding machine – a technology that has already resulted in orders from the USA, China and Germany – is just one example of its commitment to investment. 

The company has a track record of investing in young people at its Rochdale HQ and for ongoing research into milling and grinding technologies at postgraduate and post-doctoral level. When developing new machine tools, such as the Zenith 400, Holroyd is also aware of the importance of minimizing environmental impact as much as fulfilling the needs of its customers.

 

In February 2014, the company was the recipient of the Greater China Business Award for the North West. Also, in the same month, one of Holroyd’s young engineers was presented with the AMTRI scholarship at the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA) awards dinner. In June 2014, the business was then identified as one of 20 up and coming medium-sized subsidiaries of foreign companies in the inaugural Sunday Times PA Consulting Inward Investment Track. Finally, in November 2014, Holroyd was named as Apprentice Employer of the Year in the Rochdale Business Awards.