The Confederation of British Metalforming’s Geraldine Bolton and Stephen Morley were honoured as ‘sector activists’ for the way they have led their part of industry against the wave of economic uncertainty, escalating energy prices and tariffs.
The duo, based at the CBM’s National Metalforming Centre headquarters in West Bromwich, have worked tirelessly to represent their 200 members by lobbying government on safeguarding steel quotas, supporting Level 2 and 3 apprenticeship training solutions, getting fairer energy deals and navigating the complicated maze that is the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
They have also strengthened ties with international bodies and added strong corporate brands to support their membership further, with JLR, NatWest, the Kaizen Institute and Armstrong Bell joining the CBM.
Geraldine Bolton, who has also been named in the Women in Trade Association’s Powerlist this year, said: “It has been a very challenging time for our sector, but yet again it has shown its resilience and innovation to fight back.
“Our role at the CBM is to have their backs and tackle some of the key issues they are raising. I’m personally delighted to have saved our members £4m every year by the work we do through our Climate Change Levy tax agreement service.
“The Manufacturer’s Top 100 professionals is such a prestigious list to be named in and I’m delighted that some of the people behind the metalforming industry have been recognised, highlighting the strategic role we play in UK industry.”
She added: “I’ve been with the CBM for nearly 45 years, starting in the administration team and then working my way up to leading the organisation. I’m as passionate now as I was when I first joined and will use this honour to help inspire other generations to work in our sector and lobby the powers that be even harder to get things done.”
Stephen Morley joined Geraldine on stage in front of more than 250 people at The Manufacturer’s high-profile event at the NEC in Birmingham.
Mr Morley has enjoyed a 40-year industrial career that has taken in senior positions at SMEs in the supply chain, a director’s role at major stamping specialist Sertec Group Holdings, as well a host of non-exec roles and in his latest position he has taken the decades of experience and lessons learned and weaved them into the ‘DNA’ of the CBM and how it champions companies who produce forgings, pressings, fasteners, cold rolled and sheet metal products.
He recently became Chair of the Automotive Group within Euroforge and he said: “In just the last 12 months we’ve tried to make sense of extortionate energy costs, compounded by an increase to labour costs in the budget. Then you have the breakneck pace of transition to a greener economy, which has impacted our automotive sector greatly and forced steel plants to close to move Electric Arc Furnaces or even be rescued by the government.
“As a result, there are a lot of important battles to be fought over Steel Safeguarding, the volatile tariff situation and the one that hasn’t even hit us yet…the Employment Rights Bill!
“What I do know is that our 200 members, made up of 85 per cent of SMEs, are critical to ensuring the UK has a vibrant and successful industrial base and the CBM will do everything in our power to get the best deal for them.
“The Manufacturer has always been a passionate advocate for our sector and this latest recognition will give us additional impetus in our lobbying efforts.”
