CAMBRIDGE, U.K., Dec. 08, 2011—Carl Zeiss in Cambridge, part of the newly formed Microscopy business group today announced that it recently won four awards—three Best Factory 2011 Awards and one Manufacturing Excellence Award.
Best Factory Awards
The Best Factory 2011 Awards included:
- Best Electronics & Electrical Plant Award,
- People Management Award, and
- Health & Safety Award.
The award for Best Electronics was based on the company´s family of advanced scanning electron microscopes (SEM), manufactured in Cambridge. The systems of the type EVO and SIGMA are used for many applications in life sciences (e.g. searching for cures for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases), materials analysis as well as in a constantly increasing number of industrial applications, including quality control, process control and particle analysis. They excel through highest reliability, user friendliness and unique performance with respect to imaging and analytical capabilities.
As for the People Management Award, the Best Factory judges praised a strong training ethic at Carl Zeiss’ Cambridge site: “There is a commitment to training and education for all employees and a management team working on getting everybody actively involved in improving the business, not just in manufacturing but in other areas too.”
The Health & Safety award was earned, in part, by the Cambridge factory’s five-year run without a single reportable accident despite operating potentially hazardous equipment.
The company proudly accepted all three prizes at a gala awards ceremony attended by several hundred industry leaders at the Park Lane Hotel in London. Dr. Marek Szwejczewski, director, Best Factory Awards, summed it up when he said, “It takes some outfit to get to the winner’s rostrum—but to be nominated for consideration in five categories and chalk up outright wins in three is an achievement with few precedents. That is the magnitude of Carl Zeiss’ achievement this year.”
Manufacturing Excellence Award
And the awards keep coming. In addition to the Best Factory 2011 awards, Cambridge-based Carl Zeiss Nano Technology Systems was recently honored by winning the Autodesk Award for Innovation in Products and Processes at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IME) Manufacturing Excellence Awards. The Award Ceremony was held in London.
Stephen Tetlow, Chief Executive of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers said, “Carl Zeiss’ win is hugely encouraging for manufacturing in Cambridge and U.K. manufacturing more generally. The Manufacturing Excellence program is not just about celebrating manufacturing success around the country, but about providing practical advice for businesses to support them on their journey during these difficult economic times.”
The Cambridge plant of Carl Zeiss is a manufacturer of scanning electron microscopes, and in order to be successful in a world-wide competition, the company has focused on introducing innovative techniques and operating procedures to improve efficiency and productivity. Allister McBride, Director Product Management & Sales of Carl Zeiss Nano Technology Systems in the UK said, “The introduction of new techniques and innovations coupled with a solid ‘go to market’ strategy has resulted in significant market growth in both Asia and globally.”
Carl Zeiss Microscopy has a long and prestigious history which was started by Carl Zeiss himself in 1846 in Jena, Germany. The roots of the Cambridge plant go back to Cambridge Instruments, which was founded by Horace Darwin, son of Charles Darwin in 1881 as a spin-off out of Cambridge University.
Contacts:
Markus Wiederspahn,
Carl Zeiss Microscopy
Phone: +49 73 64 20 22 94,
Email: [email protected]
Aditional information about Carl Zeiss Microscopy, see: www.zeiss.de/press