The men and women with the Midas touch gathered at 8 Northumberland Avenue, London last month amid manufacturing success stories that are solid gold.
Take our overall winner, Sony UK Technology Centre in Pencoed. The site's triumphant tale is something straight out of a Hollywood script-writers top draw. In 2004 the bookies in South Wales were giving odds of 100-1 against the site making it in to the New Year. Pencoed's bread and butter cathode ray tube based TVs were becoming obsolete as the flat screen era dawned. Local industry scuppered by changing market forces: For an area still mourning the demise of local coal mines the story had a familiar ring.
Yet Pencoed refused to raise the white flag. Instead, Steve Dalton and his team launched a daring survival bid based around developing expertise in Sony's burgeoning camcorder range. Cynics dismissed it as a desperate act. Dalton took the flak on the chin and redoubled his efforts to prove the doubters wrong. For deep down the Sony chief knew what so many other ops directors at the BFA Finals know to be true. A compelling strategy, supported by investment in people, plant and an unyielding commitment to product quality is the manufacturing equivalent of kitting your site out in a bullet proof vest.
Sony's turnaround took time and included a fair share of hardship and headaches. However, Dalton and co backed themselves and began to carve out a reputation as the can-do site for camcorder technology. A move into broadcast camera specialism followed and a trickle became a flood. The site has just won back deals from China for electronic gadgets including the Raspberry Pi mini-computer and CyDen hair remover. All this took place in a region ranked as one of the poorest in the UK.
The fabulous Lazarus story should command the attention of our national broadcasters. No doubt Dalton and the team will take great pleasure in telling the BBC camera man how his high tech kit began life just to the left of shot.
