18th Oct 2007 14:57
Smith & Nephew Plc18 October 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Smith & Nephew wins prestigious Manufacturer of the Year 2007 award October 18 2007 The Advanced Wound Management business of Smith & Nephew plc (LSE: SN; NYSE:SNN)announced today that it has won the Manufacturer of the Year 2007 award,together with a number of other awards, presented at an awards ceremony held atThe Ricoh Arena in Coventry last night. The awards are made by The Manufacturer magazine, celebrating manufacturing bestpractice and recognising world class achievement in British manufacturing. Theawards were hosted by Rupert Pennant-Rea who has had a varied career as aneconomist, journalist, central banker and businessman. He has been Editor of TheEconomist and Deputy Governor of the Bank of England and is now chairman ofHenderson Group plc. The judging panel for the Manufacturer of the Year awardincluded a panel comprising senior representatives from the manufacturingindustry, manufacturing orientated academia and industrial journalism. As well as the overall Manufacturer of the Year award which is awarded at thediscretion of the judges, from companies short-listed in all award categories,the Advanced Wound Management business also walked away with the award for WorldClass Manufacturing, for the sustained and progressive achievement of worldclass manufacturing standards, Manufacturing Operations, for achieving worldclass manufacturing standards through the interaction of machines, processingsteps and tasks to be performed, Skills and Productivity, in recognition ofinitiatives that have increased productivity through the enhancement of employeeskills and improving the perception of manufacturing careers. Smith & Nephewwere also a finalist in the Energy and Environment award. Paul Adams, Senior Vice President Global Operations said, "These awards aretestimony to the fact that we have now reached world class benchmark standardsin manufacturing, when you look at the tough competition, with finalistsincluding, amongst others BAE Systems Submarine Solutions, Blackburn MicroTechSolution, InterfaceFLOR, Southern Salads, KAS Technologies Group, Saint GobainGlass, Redshape Sheet Metal and Boss Design." Noel Waters, former Operations Director for the Hull site and now ManagingDirector China Operations said, "Winning the Manufacturer of the Year award wasa key part of our Hull manufacturing site Vision, which we set out to achievefour years ago. In that vision the target was to win this very award this year.More importantly the key performance and business targets which were fundamentalto the vision are on track for delivery. Winning this award was not an end initself, but it stands as testament to and recognition at a national level, ofthe transformation of our operations to world class standards. I take enormouspride in what the workforce of the Hull plant have achieved and take delight inthe prestige and honour which we have brought to Smith & Nephew and to the cityof Hull." Enquiries Sidonie Myers Tel: +44 (0) 1482 673246Head of CommunicationSmith & Nephew Advanced Wound [email protected] Notes for Editors Further information and photographs are available via the following link:http://www.themanufacturer.com/live/ About Us Smith & Nephew Advanced Wound Management is headquartered in the United Kingdom.The organisation has manufacturing centres in the United Kingdom and Largo, FL. Smith & Nephew is a global medical technology business, specialising inOrthopaedic Reconstruction, Orthopaedic Trauma and Clinical Therapies, Endoscopyand Advanced Wound Management products. Smith & Nephew is a global leader inarthroscopy and advanced wound management and is one of the leading globalorthopaedics companies. Smith & Nephew is dedicated to helping improve people's lives. The Companyprides itself on the strength of its relationships with its surgeons andprofessional healthcare customers, with whom its name is synonymous with highstandards of performance, innovation and trust. The Company operates in 32countries around the world. Annual sales in 2006 were nearly $2.8 billion. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within themeaning of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In particular, statements regardingexpected revenue growth and trading margins discussed under "Outlook" areforward-looking statements as are discussions of our product pipeline. Thesestatements, as well as the phrases "aim", "plan", "intend", "anticipate","well-placed", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target", "consider" and similarexpressions, are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Suchforward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties andother important factors (including, but not limited to, the outcome oflitigation, claims and regulatory approvals) that could cause the actualresults, performance or achievements of Smith & Nephew, or industry results, todiffer materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressedor implied by such forward-looking statements. Please refer to the documentsthat Smith & Nephew has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissionunder the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including Smith &Nephew's most recent annual report on Form 20F, for a discussion of certain ofthese factors. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on informationavailable to Smith & Nephew as of the date hereof. All written or oralforward-looking statements attributable to Smith & Nephew or any person actingon behalf of Smith & Nephew are expressly qualified in their entirety by theforegoing. Smith & Nephew does not undertake any obligation to update or reviseany forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in Smith &Nephew's expectation with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions orcircumstances on which any such statement is based. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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