Rhino Products named Welsh Manufacturer of the Year

Commercial vehicle accessory company, Rhino Products has won Manufacturer of the Year (turnover under £25m) title at the 2018 Made in Wales Awards.

The award was presented to the business owners Steve Egerton and Clive Boult at Cardiff City Hall.

Steve Egerton said: 'We are delighted to be recognised as manufacturer of year as our production processes are something that we have always prided ourselves on but an area which has undergone significant investment in recent years'

Rhino Products' 5,100m² factory in Deeside, Flintshire has had several new product lines fitted in the last 18 months following the company's acquisition of AVS Steps which manufactures passenger vehicle side steps.

A mezzanine floor and a second lean lift were area were added to the production area to accommodate the rapid growth of the business over this period.

Rhino's further investments in Deeside this year have included a new conveyor and wrapper system and a 3D printer used by their design team to help with new product development.

The company has also announced that it will be opening a new custom-built 8,100m² factory at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, which will be opening in early 2019.

In the past year with the company has also been awarded both the ISO 14001 for environmental practices and ISO 9001:2015 for quality management.

Also in attendance at the event were Rhino Products' Design Engineer Manager Kevin Broadbent, Production Manager Darren Johnson, Finance Director James Prince, Group IT Director David Williams, Account Administrator Paulina Williams, Sally Boult and Jayne Egerton.

Steve Egerton said: 'Rhino Products would like to extend our congratulations to all nominees and winners from all categories, as well as thank the event organisers and presenter, the BBC's Jason Mohammad, for all doing their bit to support Welsh manufacturing and industry'

As a result of winning this award Rhino Products have been automatically shortlisted for manufacturer of the year in the Made in the UK nationwide finals being held at Coventry's Ricoh Arena in 2019.