HUSQVARNA RECOGNISED FOR ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE
Aycliffe Business Make Your Mark Awards
ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING
Sponsored by
THE FINALISTS
Husqvarna UK new products engineer Simon Thompson( right) received the Engineering and Manufacturing award from Chris Boughen, volume operations manager at category sponsor GEM Partnership.
HUSQVARNA RECOGNISED FOR ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE
It’ s the firm that never lets the grass grow under its feet – and now Husqvarna UK’ s engineering excellence has been recognised with a Make Your Mark award.
Its evolution from manufacturing Flymo hover mowers to switching to more complex robotic mowers has been outstanding.
And it’ s now the 2025 Engineering and Manufacturing title holder thanks in particular to three new products – the P22 for professional open spaces such as golf courses and sports pitches, the P21NA for the American market and the P25 EPOS with boundary wire-free technology.
The award was collected by new products engineer Simon Thompson – to Simon’ s surprise as much as anyone’ s because he thought colleague Kris Childs, who presented the Innovation Award, had been assigned the task should Husqvarna win.
But once the shock of being“ stitched up” had subsided, Simon paid tribute to the various teams at Husqvarna for fostering a collaborative and supportive environment.
He said:“ It’ s a really good place to work. I’ ve worked in a few sectors and coming to Husqvarna three and a half years ago was a real shock but in a positive way. Everyone’ s so helpful – a genuine team, working together towards the same goal.”
Referring to the latest products, Simon said:“ One of the products mentioned, the North
American project, was the first major project I worked on.
“ Designing one product suitable for everywhere from northern Canada to southern US was certainly a challenge, but it’ s very satisfying when it’ s done.
“ It’ s a relief after two or three years working on something to finally see it palletised and ready to go out the door.”
And with work ongoing to constantly push the boundaries of robotic lawn care, it’ s a feeling that’ s likely to be repeated in the not-too-distant future, with new robotics constantly being designed and developed in Sweden and industrialised in Aycliffe.
Simon added:“ There’ s plenty of things that we’ re working on. We’ ve already moved on to new projects and have taken that next step again.
“ It’ s constant evolution, really – we’ re always looking to develop the next generation of mowers.”
Manufacturing director Caraline Robinson said:“ Every year we’ ve got new products coming out and we have a fantastic team developing those products.
“ We’ re now branching out into professional products rather than just residential, so things like golf courses, football pitches and other larger recreational spaces.
“ We’ re always looking to go forward.”
DURHAM PRECISION ENGINEERING
Originally set up in 1984, Durham Precision Engineering started as a small machining company providing subcontract machining to numerous clients on Aycliffe Business Park.
Over the years, it has established a strong reputation, growing year on year. Since coming into new ownership following a retirement sale in 2009, the business has seen constant investment and growth.
DPE now serves prestige clients, not only in UK and Europe, but also the Americas and Middle East, including big brand names such as 3M, Typhoo, Tetley, GSK, CAT and many more.
SENSTRONICS
Senstronics is a well-established cornerstone of the Aycliffe Business Park, manufacturing and supplying pressure sensing solutions.
The firm supplies transducers that use proprietary technology and techniques which provide linear and predictable output signals.
Its products are used globally as essential technology across multiple industries for safety, reliability and precision.
The last three years have seen a significant shift in the operational and cultural model, with the aim of being a profitable, self-sustaining and resilient business, adding value to its customers, colleagues and the local community.
PREVIOUS WINNERS 2024: VIPER RF 2022: BTS FACADES & FABRICATIONS 2018: ROMAN 2016: PREMO FABRICATIONS 2015: FORMULA PLASTICS 2014: EBAC
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