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Winterhalter has won the prestigious FCSI award for Manufacturer of the Year. The award was announced at the FCSI EAME conference in Madrid.

Judges singled out the company’s energy-efficient PT Series of passthrough warewashers, including the latest model, the ClimatePlus, which not only reduces energy consumption by over 50%, but also acts as a climate controller, pumping cool air into kitchens when the ambient temperature rises above 25°C.

The FCSI is the largest worldwide foodservice industry association. The award covers both the company and the product line, so as well as Winterhalter being the Manufacturer of the Year, the PT Series is the Product of the Year.

Stephen Kinkead, managing director of Winterhalter UK, says, “To say we are absolutely delighted would be an understatement. The FCSI is the most knowledgeable professional body in our industry – for them to have given us this accolade is simply tremendous. It underlines our achievement in launching the PT Series and ratifies our Intelligent Resource Technology programme, which commits us to developing energy- and water-saving systems.”

The FCSI judges were impressed by the fact that the PT Series is the first pass through on the market to have energy-saving heat exchange technology fitted as standard. The ClimatePlus version features a radical new heat pump, which not only recycles waste heat from inside the machine but also draws in warm air from the kitchen, using it to heat up the cold water supply.

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The organisers of the PPMA show have announced the call for nominations for the Ones to Watch awards which return to the 2015 exhibition to recognise the industry’s most talented young engineers.

In an effort to further acknowledge and reward young engineers across the UK’s manufacturing industries, the Ones to Watch Awards will welcome entries from young engineers under the age of 35 who have been working in the processing and packaging industries for a minimum of two years. Entries are welcome from every area of the processing and packaging industry, including robotics, automation and machine vision, and from any discipline including engineering, programming, research and development, marketing or sales.

Sponsored by Festo’s Training & Consulting Division, the 2015 Ones to Watch winner will be chosen by a select group from the PPMA Group Industry awards judging panel and for the first time, young engineers are invited to nominate themselves. All entries must be supported by a reference from a manager, mentor, employer or business partner.

If you’re a young engineer who has designed new technology to increase the efficiency of your production line, or you know a colleague who has won a string of top accounts and improved sales across the business, the PPMA wants to hear from you. Individuals who have shown exceptional entrepreneurship, commitment and diligence within their role make ideal nominees.

Dan Stamp, gold winner of the 2014 PPMA Ones to Watch award and Design Engineer for Kliklok, says, “I was delighted to have won the gold award at the PPMA Show’s Ones to Watch awards. Not only is it great to be recognised by a professional body and a panel of industry figures but I believe it helps encourage other young professionals and graduates to take notice of the packaging and processing sectors, and explore what career opportunities it has to offer.

"It does worry me seeing so few young people entering the packaging and processing industry. There are so many interesting challenges that face packaging and processing professionals so it’s great that the PPMA continues to recognise their contribution to the industry, driving awareness for the next generation of engineers.”

Festo will provide the top three finalists with a place on its Training & Consulting employee engagement workshop ‘Don’t just feed me chicken’ worth £250. This unique training course will provide the finalists with a chance to explore the key leadership principles to engage, enable and empower employees by interacting and observing the behaviour of a range of birds of prey at the Hawk Conservancy Trust.

Gold, Silver and Bronze winners will also win additional training courses, with the Gold winner receiving a complimentary, course worth £5000 from Festo’s Training & Consulting portfolio. Silver and Bronze winners will also receive complimentary training courses worth £1500 and £1000 and will appear in the achievement gallery at the show. A wide range of training courses are available for selection including people management, organisational management and technical based program training – all refined to meet the winners' business needs and requirements.

Grant Collier, Head of Marketing for the PPMA Group, says, “We are delighted to welcome back the Ones to Watch awards to the PPMA Show 2015. As a group, we are committed to helping the industry establish solutions to deal with the current manufacturing skills gap and at this year’s show we’ll be focusing on how we can achieve this. As part of this year’s seminar sessions, we’ll be introducing the PPMA BEST initiative – a new charitable trust aimed at recruiting more young people in the industry – and will welcome apprentices from both PepsiCo and Nestle to share their experiences.

“The Ones to Watch is just one strand of a much larger programme to recognise young engineers in the industry and to excite and inspire those considering a career in the packaging and processing industries. We look forward to announcing this year’s Ones to Watch winner at the PPMA Show 2015 in September.”

To make a nomination for the 2015 Ones to Watch awards, email onestowatch@stormcom.co.uk for further information. The winners of this year’s Ones to Watch will be announced at the PPMA show on 29th September to 1st October at the NEC, Birmingham.