Elfab Limited, a leading manufacturer of pressure relief systems, is pleased to announce that the company has won the SME Innovators Category for the Manufacturing Champions Awards 2017.
The winners of this year’s Awards were revealed on Thursday 7th December in Manchester to an audience of UK manufacturing organisations ranging from global corporations to small, bespoke operations, from all areas of industry. Manufacturing Management, creators of the Awards commented, “This year saw the highest quality entries we have ever seen and our judges were incredibly impressed with the standard of all the shortlisted companies, teams and individuals.”
The SME Innovators Award celebrates the SME team who have shown that size is no barrier to delivering innovation, value add and excellence within UK manufacturing. As manufacturers of pressure relief systems for both end users and OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) in a number of sectors ranging from oil and gas to pharmaceuticals, Elfab’s products, including bursting discs, can be found in over 70 countries across the globe – all achieved with a team of just 65 people. In markets that see constantly changing customer and regulatory demands, innovation is at the heart of Elfab’s operations. Elfab’s Thermal Explosion Vent, a recent product developed in response to a customer’s specific application contributed to Elfab’s success in the SME Innovation Category.
The Thermal Explosion Vent was developed to protect gas engines coupled to a large electricity generating plant where pressure relief technology is vital in the event of an explosion within the exhaust system. A specific requirement from Elfab’s customer was to minimise thermal losses from the Explosion Vent to maintain energy efficiency and provide protection to workers in the vicinity of the panel. After a period of research and development and continuous dialogue with the customer, Elfab created a product to meet the needs of the customer. The final developed product incorporated aerospace-standard insulation integral to the design, ensuring the surface temperature of the exposed product is not hot to touch and eliminating danger to workers.
Anika Ephraim, Managing Director, Elfab, said “We are thrilled to be the inaugural winners of the SME Innovators Award, underlining Elfab’s clear focus on innovation in our sector.
“This Award demonstrates excellence in working as a cross-functional team to deliver a product to meet a specific challenge faced by a customer. The dedication of the Elfab team and our
technologically advanced manufacturing facilities are key to our success and we remain committed to contributing to UK and North-East manufacturing. Winning this award underlines Elfab’s innovation mindset and focus on improvement to provide clear value to its customers.”