Union Industries announced national winner of ‘Innovation of the Year Award’

International manufacturer, headquartered in Leeds is one of five winners at the UK Employee Ownership Awards 2016

Union Industries has been declared winner of the Innovation of the Year award at last night’s UK Employee Ownership Awards. The awards are delivered by the Employee Ownership Association (EOA) to celebrate the success of their sector, and are sponsored by Baxendale.

Presented as part of the EOA Annual Conference, this Award recognises exceptional innovation within an employee owned organisation, which actively enhances the services and products it offers and plays a key role in the achievements of the business. The judges recognised the culture of drive and innovation at Union Industries and the profound impact this has had on its continued success.

Recognised as a quality international manufacturer of technology, equipment and design expertise, Union Industries made the transition to the employee ownership in 2014.

Deb Oxley, Chief Executive of the EOA said:

“Employee owned businesses often stand apart from their competition in terms of innovation and growth, with all members of staff having a vested interest in their continued success. It is clear to see that the culture at Union Industries is no exception. Everyone has a voice, and there are fresh, innovative structures in place to make sure that they are heard. I wholeheartedly congratulate them on behalf of the EOA.”

Once the company became employee owned, employees were encouraged to commit ideas for the business within a tin tub named the ‘Eureka bath’ positioned in the main office, the small idea resulted in a big return, including the EOA Award at this year’s Annual Conference.

Isabelle Schofield of Union industries said: “We’re all delighted to say the least! We never thought, two years to the day that we made our move to employee ownership, that we’d be standing here. We’re so proud to prove that employee owned companies really can thrive when they’re set free. It’s amazing to be part of an event like this that celebrates employee ownership, especially to be at the fore and to win this award.”

Ewan Hall, Director of Legal, Baxendale, said: “Congratulations to Union Industries on being awarded Innovation of the Year, which demonstrates the company’s commitment to the ideas of their staff members, which has clearly paid off.

“Employee ownership is at the core of what we do so we’re proud to sponsor the UK Employee Ownership Awards, run by the EOA, for a second year and delighted to celebrate the stories of success. The awards hold a special significance as the successor to the Philip Baxendale Awards, which grew over 10 years from our internal celebration of success into a national celebration of the UK’s employee owned sector.”

A full list of the UK EO Awards is available to view here.