A BAILDON-based precision engineering firm has won a national award in recognition of how its staff and management have developed their skills.

Produmax, based at Sapper Jordan Rossi Park, Otley Road, has been handed the Sharing in Growth (SiG) Ikigai trophy. SiG is a Government-supported programme designed by industry to raise the competitiveness of the UK aerospace supply chain.

Produmax was selected for SiG’s transformation programme in 2014.It has since developed its business, opened new headquarters, secured £20 million in contracts and grown its workforce by 40 per cent.

The firm is supplier to aerospace giants including Boeing and Bombardier and exports 80 per cent of the flight control components it manufactures overseas including to the USA, China and Mexico.

The award was handed to Produmax managing director Jeremy Ridyard by Dr Bryan Jackson, SiG chairman.

Mandy Ridyard, finance director, said: “Our strategy is to grow our factory, grow our people and grow our business.

“We managed to consolidate two factories into one new one, introduce new levels of automation and improve our culture and brand exposure all at the same time.

“We know employee engagement is key to cracking the productivity puzzle and we have increased our employee engagement by 25 per cent and increased our productivity by 32 per cent.

“We are very proud of our achievements and will keep applying continuous improvement for continued growth.”

A total of 14 Produmax staff were also given national qualifications as part of the SiG programme. These included Level 3 NVQ extended diplomas in mechanical manufacturing engineering.

Dr Jackson said the firm is good at ‘producing something the world needs’ and it has created a team culture where people are passionate about raising their skills.

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Bradford Council’s portfolio holder for regeneration, planning and transport, said: “We are really pleased to see how Produmax is investing in its staff as we know well-skilled staff are key to productivity and business growth.”