Made in the Midlands newsroom

(left) FBC Manby Bowdler's Neil Lloyd, (centre) Hepworth International's Emily Woodall and (right) Danielle Brown MBE

Hepworth International’s Emily Woodall was crowned the winner of the Made in the Midlands Women in Engineering award on 20th October at IET Birmingham: Austin Court.

After a fantastic ovation from local manufacturing directors and peers, Emily explained: “I’m over the moon, I was a bit shocked but it is a great achievement to have. The amount of women engineers out there is very minimal and I would love to see that increase, so if I could do anything to progress that, it would be a real honour.”

The Women in Engineering Award is dedicated towards recognising the outstanding achievements of women who thrive within an industry which remains largely dominated by male figures. The award continues to grow in popularity each year, as Threeway Pressings Ltd, Wrekin Sheetmetal, Yeoman Pressings Ltd and JSC Rotational were shortlisted this year for their high quality applications.

Initially, Emily developed systems for various vehicle designs initially using 2D CAD format before working with Hepworth’s team to get the 3D Solid Works system in place.

She then undertook additional training to ensure that Hepworth utilised the full capabilities of the new software, which gave them the edge over their competitors, as they could offer a complete design facility to customers.

Emily is now a Design Manager and she plays a pivotal role in looking at business growth and improvement projects at Hepworth. She also continues to support the innovation of the products that they supply into the market place.

Made in the Midlands CEO, Jason Pitt explained: “This year saw a growth in applications for our Women in Engineering category. It is crystal clear that Midlands manufacturers stand together as passionate advocates for the continual and future success of women in engineering. I would like to congratulate Emily for her great achievements at Hepworth.”