The Scottish Engineering awards were launched over 30 years ago to celebrate the very best home-grown Scottish talent and to shine a spotlight on both inspiring individuals and exceptional Scottish organisations who have displayed the highest level of excellence within the engineering and manufacturing sectors.

This year’s awards commemorate companies that in the last year have stood out in their performance, growth, innovation, and resilience, as well as young engineers who are at the cutting edge of projects which are crucial to their company’s growth, innovation and wider support to society.

The Scottish Engineering Company of the Year Award 2024 was awarded to Celeros Flow Technology – Clyde Union Pumps. They are committed to creating a safer, more resilient and cleaner energy future through investment in their people, technology and global flagship pump manufacturing site which has been based in Cathcart, Glasgow since 1886.

Gary Walker, director of global engineering operations for Celeros Flow Technology, said: “We are so proud to receive this recognition, particularly given the quality of the entries from our peers this year. The award is a testament to the ClydeUnion Pumps team, our customers and partners, who have all contributed to making the brand into a global leader in the manufacture and maintenance of safety-critical industrial pumps.

“I’d like to thank Scottish Engineering for acknowledging our continued investment in developing the skills and technology that will make the Cathcart site in Glasgow a beacon of engineering excellence for many years to come.”

Scottish Engineering’s chief executive Paul Sheerin added: “ClydeUnion Pumps have been a crucial part of Scotland’s manufacturing landscape for over 150 years, and in that time have built a trusted name globally for pump solutions for energy, utilities and defence applications. Since 2020 they have accelerated their ambition leading to business growth fuelled by investment in people, technology, and equipment – plus the redevelopment of the Glasgow site they have occupied since 1886.

“These multi-million-pound investments will ensure their readiness to support growth in areas such as Carbon Capture, Nuclear and Biofuels solutions – and look after their future for the next 150 years. My sincere congratulations to ClydeUnion Pumps, and all our award winners on their much-deserved success this evening.”

The 2024 President’s Award was presented to Collins Aerospace in Prestwick.

Andrew Hodge, managing director, Prestwick MRO, said: “Collins Aerospace in Prestwick is honoured to have received the Scottish Engineering President’s Award for the overall performance of our maintenance, repair and overhaul services for aircraft nacelle systems and aero-engine components. This award recognises the significant and continuous investments undertaken to ensure the company’s site in South Ayrshire is a world leading facility, boasting one of Europe’s largest aerospace grade autoclaves to support composite material repairs.”

The 2024 Engineering Excellence Award was awarded to Matthew Algie.

Paul Chadderton, director at Matthew Algie, said: “It’s a real honour to earn such a prestigious award. This recognition not only reflects our roastery upgrade, which, through a robust plan, maximised the use of confined space to create what we believe is now one of the best roasters in Europe, but also underscores our 160-year commitment to excellence across all aspects of our business.

“We are proud to have been recognised for all our recent efforts, which have increased our capacity by 25%, reduced manual handling by 90%, created 38 new jobs, and lowered carbon emissions by more than 1,800 tonnes per year. These changes, coupled with the ongoing evolution of our processes, will enable us to achieve our goal of becoming Net Zero by 2040—a commitment our incredible team, to whom we owe this award, is dedicated to fulfilling, while ensuring the very best service for our valued customers.” 

The 2024 Sustainable Development Award​ was awarded to THREE60 Energy​.

Walter Thain, CEO said: “THREE60 Energy is incredibly honoured to accept the Scottish Engineering Sustainable Development award. This recognition underpins our unwavering commitment to sustainable practices, innovative engineering technology and the positive development of our people. Together, we will continue to drive better solutions, ensuring a sustainable and a more resilient future for generations to come. Thank you to the judges, our incredible team, our customers and all our supply chain partners who share our vision of Better Energy Together.”

The 2024 Manufacturing Excellence Award was awarded to Hydrasun.

Don Morrison, divisional manager at Hydrasun, said: “Hydrasun are very honoured to have been chosen for such a prestigious award. Winning the Scottish Engineering, Manufacturing Excellence Award 2024 is a fantastic accolade and clear recognition of everyone at Hydrasun’s hard work, dedication and commitment to high quality, local manufacturing. Hydrasun continue to deliver value for money products and solutions for our customer’s on an international basis. Innovation, Continual Improvement and Investment are key priorities across our 8 UK and European manufacturing facilities as we continue to grow our presence in the energy transition space. Thank You Scottish Engineering.” 

The 2024 Innovation Excellence Award was awarded to Linn Products.

Chris O’Brien, director of operations, said: “Innovation is at the heart of life at Linn, both in the pioneering products that we bring to market and in the ways that we make them. This has allowed our small, Scottish, independent business to flourish on the global stage, and to lead the industry time and time again. Recognition of this work by Scottish Engineering is fantastic and we are delighted to receive the award.”

The 2024 Business Transformation Award was presented to Wallace McDowall Ltd.

John Gemmell, managing director, stated: “This award is recognition of the tremendous effort of the entire workforce at Wallace McDowall Ltd. to embrace change and push themselves and the business forward as we strive to create a customer and employee centric business model. We could not have achieved everything that we have over the past few years without their commitment and their buy-in to support the leadership team as we embarked on our journey to create a safe, modern, challenging, and exciting working environment that delivers first class quality products to our expanding customer base.”

The 2024 Skills Excellence Award was presented to Almond Engineering.

Michelle Quinn, managing director, said: “Almond Engineering Ltd are proud and honoured to have been recognised to receive this award. The full team at Almond have worked immensely hard and collectively strive to provide the best possible Precision Engineering and one stop shop service to our extensive customer base. We continue to invest heavily in the latest technology alongside a detailed continual improvement programme and training/upskilling new and existing employees regularly to ensure the longevity of the business for the future and to help develop the next generation of engineers and keep manufacturing on the map in Scotland.”

Our 2024 Young Engineer of the Year Award (YEYA24) in partnership with The Incorporation of Hammermen of Glasgow was presented to Ross McPhillie of RUA Life Sciences for his role in developing a prosthetic heart valve prototype that is transitioning to commercialisation.

The YEYA24 runner up trophies were awarded to Ewan Ferguson of Consarc Engineering for his project solving issues with a customer’s vacuum furnace, and also to Ross Herbert of Leonardo for establishing a UK additive manufacturing community, driving innovation within the aerospace supply chain.

Bruce Wood, Deacon of The Incorporation of Hammermen of Glasgow, added: “Once again the standard of young engineers entering the competition has been inspiring, with outstanding presentations revealing the depth of engineering talent that Scotland can be proud of. Choosing a winner amongst such high standards is always difficult, but in Ross McPhillie of RUA Life Sciences, we have a worthy winner.

“Ross aimed to innovate heart valve technology by developing a prototype which successfully lasted 200 million cycles in durability tests and is now transitioning to commercialisation. Alongside Ross, all our finalists, should be proud of their outstanding achievements and they are a true inspiration to Scottish engineers, young and not so young.”

The 2024 Engineering Graduate Apprentice of the Year was presented to Jennifer Mackay of Ferguson Marine for her excellent organisational and communication skills and the runner-up trophy was awarded to James Duncan of Celeros Flow Technology – Clyde Union Pumps for showing significant aptitude for engineering and exceeding academically.

The 2024 Engineering Modern Apprentice of the Year was presented to Zack More of Glendale Mouldings Ltd for the quality and variety of the work that he has produced, his appetite for learning and his project in the toolroom, and the runner-up trophy was awarded to Dylan Jobson of Babcock for his professional approach, high level of skills and work carried out on HMS Prince of Wales last year.