InterfaceFLOR scoops top environmental prize at Manufacturer Live Awards 2007

Modular flooring specialist InterfaceFLOR is delighted to announce its success at last night’s Manufacturer Live Awards 2007, where it won the prestigious Energy and Environment Award and was a finalist in two additional manufacturing categories. The ceremony, hosted by Rupert Pennant-Rea, formerly Deputy Governor of the Bank of England and presently the chairman of Henderson Group, showcased the best companies in the UK at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry.

InterfaceFLOR was one of only two companies to be nominated for three categories, namely the Energy and Environment Award, the World Class Manufacturing Award and the Manufacturing Operations Award. This marks the company’s achievements as it strives towards its stated goal of Mission Zero, to completely eliminate the negative impact it may have on the environment by 2020.

Lindsey Parnell, CEO and President of InterfaceFLOR for the EMEA and India regions said: “We have followed an ongoing agenda towards improving our environmental and manufacturing performance in pursuit of Mission Zero. It has become the overriding aim in every business decision we make.

“These awards recognise our efforts to constantly drive out waste and improve manufacturing efficiency. Over the past 13 years we estimate our environmental programme has saved the company almost $336m, most of which has been reinvested back into further environmental initiatives.”

The Energy and Environment Award recognises companies for the efforts they have made in developing low carbon operations, improving energy efficiency, recycling waste materials, rationalising and cutting back on transport usage, developing environmental awareness and protecting the local environment, all elements that InterfaceFLOR has strived to achieve as part of Mission Zero.

The World Class Manufacturing Award looks at companies who measure and quantify everything they do in terms of lead times to customer returns, and work content to labour minutes per unit. The Manufacturing Operations Award examines what happens on the shop floor and how a company recognises and utilises to good effect the interaction between machines, processing steps and the tasks to be performed.

The core of InterfaceFLOR’s manufacturing operation was built around the “5s” theory (sort, set in order, scrub, standardise and sustain), but unlike other manufacturing operations, employees’ bonuses now directly reflect the internal and external reduction in waste, energy and material usage as opposed to productivity.

What sets apart the manufacturing operations employed at InterfaceFLOR is that while using these methodologies to increase productivity, the factory has also become more environmentally friendly and achieved additional cost savings as a result.

The judging panel for The Manufacturer Live Awards included some of the biggest names from industry, including Nick Brayshaw, OBE, Chairman of the CBI Manufacturing Council; Dr Charles Tennant, Associate Professor, WMG Group at the University of Warwick; and Professor Mike Gregory, from the Institute for Manufacturing, Cambridge University.

This latest win complements the Green Apple Award for Environmental Best Practice that is due to be presented to InterfaceFLOR at the House of Commons in November. The award is given by the Green Organisation, an independent, non-political, non-activist, non-profit environment group dedicated to recognising and rewarding environmental best-practice.

For more information on the Manufacturer Live Awards, visit www.themanufacturer.com/awards and for The Green Apple awards go to www.thegreenorganisation.info

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Date issued: 18 October 07