Bentley Motors has been commended for its excellence in manufacturing by a panel of leading experts.
The luxury car manufacturer was presented with the UK Industrial Excellence Award and will now compete with other European nations for the crown of European Industrial Excellence Award Champion in September.
Academic institutions including the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, INSEAD and WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management visited Bentley’s headquarters on Pyms Lane in Crewe for an assessment.
Experts praised the ability of Bentley to combine the traditional, labour intensive craftsmanship with efficiencies in production.
Also appluaded was the success of the organisation in creating a customer focus and a continuous improvement culture which have resulted in gains in revenue growth, profit and productivity.
Bentley’s member of the board for manufacturing, Michael Straughan said: "This is an award for our workforce, who have all worked so hard over recent years to ensure Bentley remains at the forefront of UK manufacturing.
"It comes at a key time for us, as we expand our model line-up with the introduction of the Bentley Bentayga.
"This is a new challenge for us but one we will deliver with the same level of commitment, passion and engineering and manufacturing expertise that goes into every Bentley.”
The Industrial Excellence Award competition benchmarks European competitiveness in the industrial and service sector. It focuses on strategy development, management quality, strategy formulation, supply chain management, service management, new products and services and process technology development.
The award comes after a string of announcements in recent months which chiefs hope will only enhance the company’s skilled manufacturing clout. Those include a £40m investment to expand its Crewe site with a new research and development centre which in turn will create 300 new jobs and the largest ever intake of apprenticeship applications.