Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group has won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category.
The award recognises how, during the course of three consecutive financial years, Marshall saw an increase of almost 70% in its international trade.
During this three-year period, more than half of Marshall’s exports were engineering and support services to airframe OEMs, governments, air forces and commercial operators.
Of particular note, in 2014, Marshall completed a complex, time-sensitive, two-aircraft cabin upgrade programme for TAP, Portugal’s leading airline.
Also contributing to international sales was, and continues to be, the manufacture of fuel tanks for the Boeing P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, for which the OEM presented Marshall with a ‘Supplier of the Year’ award in 2014.
Steve Fitz-Gerald, CEO of Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group, comments: "It is a great honour to have won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise, for which we are most grateful.
"It is the most respected of all business awards, and to be recognised for our role in the export of the UK’s engineering capabilities, in both commercial and military sectors, is an immense boost to the men and women of our company.
"Marshall has built an enviable reputation worldwide, and we are keen to do our part to strengthen the UK’s Prosperity Agenda".
Marshall’s strength in the international market place has a significant impact at home. The company employs more than 2,000 people and adds approximately £100m gross value-added to the UK economy and spends more than £140m in the supply chain to support its business, indirectly supporting a further 2,500 jobs (Buro Happold, 2014).
Fitz-Gerald concludes: "Everyone in the business is incredibly proud of this wonderful achievement, coming as it does just a few years after we won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation.
"2016 also marks our 50th year of supporting the UK’s Royal Air Force’s C-130 fleet, time during which we have performed invaluable maintenance work, undertaken emergency recovery projects and made numerous upgrades, work that has been recognised around the world and led to us supporting the C-130 fleets of nine other air forces worldwide."