102021

NEWS Gardner Denver High Pressure Solutions becomes GD Energy Products 8 HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS October 2021 www.hpmag.co.uk HydraForce Ltd has been shortlisted for both Large Employer of the Year and Apprentice of the Year in the Greater Birmingham Apprenticeship Awards 2021. HydraForce’s Engineering apprentice, Ahmad Ford, has been nominated for the Apprentice of the Year award in Engineering & Manufacturing. He comments: “Since Joining HydraForce in 2018 at a time when I was looking for a new, more challenging and rewarding career path. I have been challenged daily with opportunities to not only participate in but in some instances lead business critical projects. During this period, HydraForce has gone through a significant growth and the fact that I have been given the opportunity to participate in projects that have assisted this growth, reinforces my belief that not only an apprenticeship, but an apprenticeship with HydraForce, was a smart decision.” Ford continues: “It has never been my intention to seek any kind of critical acclaim, but I feel humbled and honored to be shortlisted for the Greater Birmingham Apprenticeship Awards 2021. Whether I am successful or not, I look forward to continuing my development, through my foundation degree, to full honors degree, laying the foundations for a long and bright future growing with HydraForce and hopefully having the opportunity to assist in the development of future HydraForce apprentices.” Ford will be competing against two other candidates in the Engineering & Manufacturing category. Should he be successful in this industry category, he will then be in the running for the winner of Greater Birmingham Apprentice of the Year. This overall award will be revealed on the night and chosen from one of the six industry apprentice winners. This is the third time a HydraForce apprentice has been nominated at the Greater Birmingham awards in this category, and it follows the success of former HydraForce apprentice winners at the 2019 Awards. HydraForce has also been nominated for Large Employer of the Year for apprenticeships at this year’s award ceremony. Scheme growth HydraForce’s award winning apprenticeship scheme began in 2004, and has grown considerably over recent years through the introduction of a business apprenticeship, alongside their established Engineering apprenticeship programme: Sam Wilcox-Wright, learning and development manager, comments: “I am delighted that once again, our apprenticeship programme has been shortlisted for the Large Employer of the Year for apprenticeships, and our apprenticeship scheme continues to go from strength to strength. “It is also fantastic to hear that Ahmad has been shortlisted for this award, and it is a true reflection of his hard work and determination that he has shown throughout his apprenticeship”. This nomination follows the company’s success in this category in 2019, where they were winners of the Large Employer for Greater Birmingham. HydraForce was also shortlisted at last year’s virtual ceremony event. These apprenticeship awards are part of the Greater Birmingham campaign launched in 2018 to increase the number of apprentices across Birmingham and Solihull. The award ceremony will take place on Thursday 11th November at Edgbaston Stadium. Gardner Denver High Pressure Solutions has been renamed GD Energy Products to better reflect its commitment to the upstream oil and gas market. Gardner Denver High Pressure Solutions has long held a strong position as a premier brand within the manufacturing, service and repair of high-pressure pumps and related consumables in the upstream energy market. As a standalone business, GD Energy Products will focus its efforts on best serving its customers in the upstream oilfield service sector, while continuing its legacy of delivering highly engineered and efficient, customer-driven solutions to meet the evolving needs of the market. Enabling efficient energy production Edward Bayhi, CFO at GD Energy Products, comments: “As GD Energy Products we will advance our history of innovation and commercialisation of technologies that enable efficient energy production. Alongside our renewed focus on upstream oil and gas, we will continue to work around the clock focusing on new product development, supply chain optimization and operational excellence. We look forward to continuing to build on the strong foundation that GD Energy Products rests upon today.” Larry Kerr has been appointed CEO of GD Energy Products, having built up 36 years of experience in the industry, 10 of those at Gardner Denver. He comments: “Our rebranding as GD Energy Products is a great step forward for the organisation that our customers have trusted from day one, for more than 160 years. This transition will enable our team to grow, our business to thrive, and most importantly will give us increased flexibility to continue to serve our customers with innovative products and unrivaled customer service. We are excited about our next phase of tremendous growth as GD Energy Products - a standalone organisation.” HydraForce Ltd shortlisted for Greater Birmingham Apprenticeship Awards 2021 Ahmad Ford: “Since Joining HydraForce in 2018…I have been challenged daily with opportunities to not only participate in but in some instances lead business critical projects.” Larry Kerr: “This transition will enable our team to grow, our business to thrive, and most importantly will give us increased flexibility to continue to serve our customers with innovative products and unrivaled customer service.”