Huhtamaki scoops global award at annual trade fair

Local manufacturer Huhtamaki Lurgan has received global recognition by winning the '˜Best Project Award' for its Increase in Good Production Project at the multi-national manufacturer's annual trade fair.
Best Project Award at the international trade fair are Eric Jenkinson, Scott Kennedy, Steven Rae, Jon Cowgill and Matthew Currie, members of the Huhtamaki Lurgan team.Best Project Award at the international trade fair are Eric Jenkinson, Scott Kennedy, Steven Rae, Jon Cowgill and Matthew Currie, members of the Huhtamaki Lurgan team.
Best Project Award at the international trade fair are Eric Jenkinson, Scott Kennedy, Steven Rae, Jon Cowgill and Matthew Currie, members of the Huhtamaki Lurgan team.

This is the first time Huhtamaki Lurgan has won the award, or even been placed in the top three, for its Increase in Good Production Project at the Black Belt Trade Fair.

Huhtamaki operates in 34 countries, with 71 manufacturing sites and 15,800 employees worldwide.

Each year, the wider Huhtamaki Business Excellence teams from across the world meet for the Black Belt Trade Fair. The Huhtamaki-only event is open to all sites across the Food Service, Molded Fiber and Flexible Business Units, and in 2015 over 50 projects were considered by a judging panel from across the globe.

Jon Cowgill, of Huhtamaki Lurgan, said: “Our Lurgan unit needed to manufacture an additional 10 million egg cartons to meet both our financial targets as well as the needs of customers in a growing market. To address the challenge we started a project that involved people across the whole business. The first step was to break the problem into manageable portions or sub projects and we then formed teams for each of our six machines. Machine operators, technical services and engineering personnel joined together to brainstorm, develop action plans and assign responsibilities. It’s a superb achievement for Huhtamaki Lurgan.”

Philip Woolsey, Director of Huhtamaki Lurgan, said: “I’m extremely proud to see Huhtamaki Lurgan being recognised on a global scale and would like to extend my sincere congratulations to all members of the team. This project is a real example of the power of team work, something that we stress in our day-to-day operations in Lurgan. The accolade is a testament not only to the hard work of the project teams but also to the wider support functions on the site - without their support the project would not be possible.”