Christopher Greenough spends his days as Commercial Director of Salop Design & Engineering, a metal pressings and assemblies manufacturer based in Shrewsbury, quoting work, liaising with Customers and making sure the company is at the forefront of the sector.
He has pushed himself to further the name of the company and has spent the last few years, through his role at Salop Design making sure everyone knows the capabilities they have. He has also taken on roles with the Made in the Midlands peer group and the Shropshire Chamber of Commerce, to further promote the region and the manufacturing sector.
As an advocate for manufacturing, he has now been recognised by the publication The Manufacturer, in their TOP100 influential individuals in the sector for 2016. In fact, he was given the highly sought Exemplar status, reserved for the top twenty individuals. A testament to the work he has put in through all his roles, and his enthusiasm for the sector and region.
The judges saw Greenough as a driver of cultural change, through his promotion of manufacturing as a career choice, and the work he has involved himself in on pushing the apprenticeship route for the next generation of engineers.
Greenough said of the award, This is not just recognition for my work, but really for the forward and outward looking approach of Salop Design, we are not only willing to invest in our site, we are investing in the future of skills provision for the region. Manufacturing is an exciting and fulfilling career choice, and we need to further promote this to schools and colleges.
The Government has asked for business to take the lead, well here at Salop Design we have. We are a manufacturer, working with a training provider, and taking the apprenticeship message into schools. We have a blueprint for future skills provision that will work to close the skills gap, and help manufacturing continue to boost the UK economy.