Gold medal awarded

Raj Rajagopal, chief executive of BOC Edwards, has been awarded the IEE’s premier manufacturing award, the Sir Eric Mensforth International Manufacturing Gold Meda.l The award is presented annually to people who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of manufacturing engineering technology or manufacturing management. It was presented by Professor Michael Sterling, president of the IEE, on Thursday 13 March. Dr. Rajagopal said, "I am delighted to receive this award, in recognition of the contribution made by the highly skilled and talented people throughout BOC Edwards that make our business a world leader in a market driven by rapid technological change." Prior to receiving the award, Dr. Rajagopal spoke on Manufacturing industry: the case for sustainable competitive advantage for UK plc. in which he looked at the reasons for the decline in UK manufacturing, the impact of global competition, the emergence of Asia as a major producer of high technology products and the growing trend of outsourcing to low cost economies. He concluded on an optimistic note: "I believe that UK plc is capable of sustaining competitive advantage in manufacturing. Our blend of scientific talent and tradition, flexible and skilled labour and good industrial infrastructure make it an excellent home for high value, complex manufacturing operations where close alliance between design and manufacturing is paramount. A few UK companies are demonstrating that we can exploit that talent, within the context of commercial acumen and a readiness to embrace change." MF The picture shows Raj Rajagopal, chief executive of BOC Edwards and Professor Michael Sterling, President of the IEE