1. Extensive media exposure for your company or young manufacturer – local and national

2. The chance to benchmark your business against peers and competitors

3. Shine a light on your best young employees through the Young Manufacturer of the Year category

4. Free business feedback from top experts

5. Gain recognition as ‘award winning’

6. Positive impact on staff throughout the business – boosting morale and team spirit

7. An opportunity to thank staff and celebrate their hard work , determination and commitment

8. Highlight to customers and clients that they are associated with the best in class

9. Gain industry recognition for successful training programmes

10. Inclusion in The Manufacturer Opus showcase publication

There are two rounds to the judging process.

First round

In the first round, entries are submitted via our online portal. For each category there are 10 statements which companies self-assess against and provide written evidence for. The judges independently assess these submissions and their scoring whittles down the entries to select the finalists.

Second round

Site Visits

As part of the second round of the judging process, the finalists in eight of the 10 categories will receive a site visit where the judges will view evidence of the entry in action. Each category judging team will travel to each of the finalist's factories in September, and your site will receive an am or pm slot. As it is a considerable scheduling and logistical challenge planning the judging slots, you need to ensure that you are available across all of the dates scheduled for your category until your time and date is confirmed. Categories with site visits:

Achieving Customer Value

Product Innovation & Design

People & Skills

Operational Excellence

Leadership & Strategy

Smart Factory

Supply Chain Excellence

Sustainable Manufacturing

Judging day

A Judging Day takes place in Central London and will bring together the two remaining categories before each winner is selected. These categories are:

Young Manufacturer of the Year

International Trade

In addition to the categories available to enter, two awards will be presented on the evening to the most outstanding businesses. Manufacturing in Action - will demonstrate an efficient, modern, profitable business, which can show examples of product excellence, innovation, customer satisfaction, investment in people, training, effective management and efforts to become more sustainable in both processes and products and The Manufacturer of the Year, overall winner award, is selected by the judging panel from the individual category winners.