One of the UK’s leading manufacturers, fabricators, and installers of access products – Teesside-based Lionweld Kennedy – has been announced winner of the Make UK National Energy and Sustainability Award at a prestigious ceremony held at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
Up against strong competition from companies across the UK, Middlesbrough based Lionweld Kennedy scooped the national award only two months after winning both the Manufacturer of the Region, and the Energy and Sustainability Awards for the Northeast, Yorkshire and Humber region.
Speaking about the award win, Dave Robinson, MD at Lionweld Kennedy said:
“We are obviously delighted to win Make UK’s National award for Energy and Sustainability. In the last three years the business has invested heavily in process improvements and innovation that drive carbon reduction and sustainability, and this award firmly acknowledges our commitment to that. Alongside this, and most importantly, we have a team which has consistently driven our decarbonisation strategy and whose achievements in doing this have been outstanding.
“Going forward we remain absolutely dedicated to continuing our journey in decarbonisation and we will continue to invest in our people, processes and plant as part of our efforts to achieve that.”
Winning the National Energy and Sustainability Award comes on the back of Lionweld’s investment of over half a million pounds on carbon reduction and sustainable technologies which have included the installation of 650 solar PV panels on the company’s factory roofs, the switch to alternative heating fuel in the form of hydrogenated vegetable oil and the move to a 100% green electricity tariff. Alongside this, the business has switched all on-site forklift trucks and fleet cars to fully electric models.
The investment has seen Lionweld Kennedy achieve a 92% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions between 2020 and 2023 and achieve its long-term net zero target for 2040 in only three years.
Speaking about the award win, Middlesbrough Mayor, Chris Cooke said: “This is a fantastic win for Lionweld Kennedy which, not only acknowledges the significant investment this business has made in its carbon reducing efforts, but also puts a Middlesbrough based business firmly on the map in terms of leading the charge to decarbonise the construction industry.”
Formed in 1910, Lionweld Kennedy designs, manufactures and installs steel and Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) flooring, handrails, stair treads and access solutions to a range of industries including data centres, energy, construction, rail, utilities and renewables. The business is headquartered in Middlesbrough – where it was originally formed – and is part of Hill and Smith PLC.
