Harrison Spinks and Spinks Springs are very proud to announce that we have received two prestigious Queen’s Awards for Enterprise in 2018. The awards for Innovation and International Trade were announced in the 2018 awards on the 21st of April.
Having previously received Queen’s Awards for Innovation and Sustainable Development in 2013 this makes Harrison Spinks the only bed-maker to receive two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise in the same year on two separate occasions, bringing the total awarded to Harrison Spinks to four. Harrison Spinks are one of just eight companies to win more than one award this year and the only organisation from Yorkshire and the Humber to receive two awards in 2018. To win the Innovation Award consecutively in 2013 and 2018 (the awards last for 5 years) just proves the pioneering leadership of the company and its quest to continuously innovate.
Harrison Spinks and Spinks Springs have their own team of on-site engineers who are dedicated to building machinery in-house and coming up with the next generation of innovation.
Simon Spinks, Managing Director of Harrison Spinks said: “To be granted two more Queen’s Awards for Enterprise is a huge honour and reflects the hard work and dedication of the whole Harrison Spinks team.
“As a proud British manufacturer we’re pleased that our place in the international market has been acknowledged by the Queen’s Award for International Trade. We feel that our British values of innovation and quality have set us up for success in a global marketplace.
“Since the company was established in 1840, we have always strived to innovate and go about our business in a slightly different way, whether that be creating new ways to manufacture springs or cultivating our farm so we can grow our own natural fillings. We’re delighted to be recognised by the most prestigious enterprise awards in the UK.”
The 2018 Queen’s Award for Innovation was granted in recognition of our development of novel manufacturing processes for sprung mattresses. Mattress comfort is improved as spring concentration increases, however, technical issues across the bed-making sector have meant that spring density is limited by the gauge of wire used. Harrison Spinks and Spinks Springs have solved a whole series of problems to reduce the diameter of wire used by 30 per cent to 0.7mm, the thinnest wire used in pocket spring technology.
Working in partnership with British Steel, a unique grade of steel has been developed, along with a refined drawing process to create the required wire. Harrison Spinks and Spinks Springs have also developed patented spring making machines that work at five times the speed of traditional machinery. Our ultra-fast HD spring machines produce 600 springs per minute, equal to 36,000 per hour. Lightweight, high-density springs have not only allowed us to create unrivalled levels of comfort and support for our mattresses, but have opened new markets such as car seats, running shoes and office chairs.
The Queen’s Award for International Trade for Outstanding Short Term Growth in Overseas Sales was granted to Harrison Spinks following a 296 per cent increase in exports. Internationally, Harrison Spinks trades in over 50 countries with joint ventures in USA and China and now overseas sales make up 25 per cent of our total sales.
The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are awarded to businesses for outstanding achievement in four categories: International Trade, Innovation, Sustainable Development and also for Promoting Opportunity. This year 237 awards were granted across the four categories, 26 of which were awarded to companies from Yorkshire and the Humber.
All Harrison Spinks and Spinks Springs products are expertly made in Yorkshire, with over 600 employees based at our Leeds Factory.
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