Corporate Excellence Awards 2020

Printing Innovation 3D Folkes may now be recognised as Yorkshire’s leading 3D print and product design consultancy, but the passion-project come business venture was born in the bedroom of Managing Director, Ben Folkes’ student flat in Sheffield over five years ago. Having built his first 3D printer in his bedroom and attained a degree in mechanical engineering, Ben set up 3D Folkes in 2015. A team of product designers based in Sheffield, 3D Folkes specialises in 3D printing and Solidworks CAD software to create prototypes and batch production. 3D Folkes provides high quality, customer-focused product design service at scale, helping to realise the dreams of those bursting with ideas and innovations, but who are limited by the daunting process of launching these projects. 3D Folkes is making the process simple, so that people are able to have confidence in getting their products to market. Established by Ben Folkes in 2015 following the completion of his degree in mechanical engineering and the construction of his first 3D printer in the bedroom of his student flat, the company’s values have remained the same since its inception, even if their approach to living up to those values has changed. A focus on customer service and the quality of work they do, always done in the most ethical way. Sustainable practices are fundamental to 3D Folkes, so only recycled plastics are used to minimise the company’s carbon footprint. Although constantly looking at ways to improve their Quality Management systems to ensure the consistent delivery of high- quality work, 3D Folkes have found that customers nearly always comment on how friendly and reliable their service is. Committed to keeping their clients in the loop at every stage of the process, 3D Folkes lets clients know that they are in total control of their own projects and can rely on Ben and his team to carry out their vision. 3D Folkes work with a mixture of first-time inventors and established companies looking to expand their existing product lines, as well as doing a great deal of reverse engineering work for engineering companies. Every client is treated with the same level of care and respect, regardless of the size and scale of their project. Aug20424 A small but busy company, Ben relies heavily on his team. Working together in relaxed and comfortable environment that encourages creativity, the team also know when to pull together to accomplish complex tasks effectively and to a deadline. Attracting graduates in product design and CAD-related backgrounds, 3D Folkes has seen many of its team grow within the business. Operations Director, Max Vogtlander began as a volunteer intern in 2017 but has amassed many responsibilities as the business has developed and is now a soon-to-be-shareholder in 3D Folkes. Alongside Head Designer, Ben Keyser, the pair are vital to the running of business, and Ben Folkes considers them both crucial to the firm’s survival and success. While the national lockdown saw an initially substantial decrease in business activity for 3D Folkes, the company was on a strong footing to weather the storm with the help of government subsidies. The team used the time to make some improvements and changes to the company that had previously been put on the back burner, enabling 3D Folkes to come back even stronger when business began to return to the new version of normal. Things may still be uncertain for the UK economy, but 3D Folkes are continuing to reinvest in improving the quality of their work and increasing the services they offer, such as full colour printing. The company is also working to increase their brand awareness, investing some time in their social media presence so that Yorkshire-based designers and innovators know exactly where to come to realise the full potential of their ideas and inventions. Contact: Ben Folkes Web Address: www.3dfolkes.co.uk understands the importance of maintaining longstanding and trusting relationships with their clients both in the success of each project and in Manzeera’s own business growth. It is thanks to Manzeera’s highly experienced team of people, who understand the importance of providing excellent service and sustainable results at affordable costs, that the company has been so successful in maintaining these relationships. Operating with a flat organisational structure within Manzeera has cultivated an environment that encourages communication of the company values, as the team strives towards dynamism, creative thinking and collaboration. For Manzeera, the employees are the most valuable asset of the firm and as such are regarded as highly as their clients. Constantly developing new methods to measure employee performance and reward staff members for excellence, Manzeera’s internal culture promotes team morale to help the business achieve peak performance as they work closely with clients, engaging with them to share ideas and crystallise them as solutions to complex business issues. Fostering an environment of healthy collaboration has ensured clients achieve solutions that are perfectly tailored to their business. Being in one of the fastest-growing industries that sees new technologies and tools emerging each day, Manzeera is constantly focusing on innovating their own BI solutions whilst striving to stay aligned to client requirements that continually evolve with the market. The company collaborates closely with key stakeholders throughout the innovation process to establish how they can maximise profits and success for the firm. Currently, this means focusing on regions that have a high demand for BI solutions, enabling Manzeera to stay competitive and reach as many clients as possible. As the firm seeks to continue expanding its whilst constantly evolving its offering of the latest tools and technologies, Manzeera continues to be a vital asset to businesses across Europe as they strive to make better business decisions. Contact: Maninder Singh Web Address: www.manzeerasolutions.co.uk Jul20273 Issue 11 2020 11 Innovative Business Intelligence European-based Manzeera Solutions is an independent consultancy firm that is on a mission to help small, medium and large businesses make better decisions, based on their own data and intelligence. Constantly developing and evolving their offerings in tools and technology, Manzeera aims to think freely and creatively as they develop solutions tailored to the needs of their clients. We spoke to Founder and Managing Director, Maninder Singh, to find out more. Manzeera Solutions is an independent business intelligence consultancy committed to helping businesses make better decisions by using data-driven decision-making tools. With a team of experts boasting years of experience across numerous industries, Manzeera is able to provide dynamically scalable solutions to complex BI challenges that are sustainable and contribute to the success of their clients’ businesses. Whether it be resolving data quality issues, refining an existing BI landscape or even implementing a full BI solution, Manzeera delivers objective-oriented service of the highest quality that is both aligned with the company’s vision and the clients’ demands. When Manzeera was first established, the company’s mission was to provide scalable and sustainable solutions to BI problems, with a focus on small scale businesses. Today, Manzeera works with small, medium and large organisations, employing a vast array of cutting-edge tools and technologies but with the same vision to help companies achieve their BI goals. Employing both strategy and technology in the development of their business solutions, Manzeera also operates in accordance with their unique best practice model, ‘The BI Pentagon of Success’. By outlining a thorough approach to the evaluation, implementation and maximisation of a BI investment, all in accordance with the clients’ specifications, Manzeera is able to cut down on deployment time and long-term costs as well as encourage efficiency. ‘Our customer-centric approach ensures our customers that they can be certain that any suggested tools are the best strategic move for their organisation,’ says Maninder Singh, Founder and MD. Manzeera has established themselves as an organisation dedicated to optimising businesses and organisations of all shapes and sizes by using their data to inform them to make better business decisions. Attracting clients through networking and recommendations, the company The company collaborates closely with key stakeholders throughout the innovation process to establish how they can maximise profits and success for the firm. Currently, this means focusing on regions that have a high demand for BI solutions, enabling Manzeera to stay competitive and reach as many clients as possible. Corporate Excellence Awards 103