AES Engineering Ltd, the Yorkshire-based mechanical seal manufacturer and reliability group serving over 100 countries, has received the King’s Award for Enterprise in the sustainable development category.
Group managing director and founder, Chris Rea, said that the King’s Award for AES Engineering was not only a huge honour but was also quite unusual due to the size of the business and the fact that it had 66 subsidiaries, operating from 96 branches spread around the world.
“A King’s Award is the ultimate establishment to business Award and a huge boost to morale and motivation, but this award is particularly special as it encourages AES Engineering Ltd to continue to invest in sustainability, not least of which is our commitment to invest £29 million by 2029 on environmental projects.
“By recognising that a UK based group can combine leadership on the environment and sustainability with commercial success these awards can only inspire others to play a greater part in combatting climate change,” he added.
This is the 16th Queen’s or King’s award won by AES group companies but the first to be won by the overall holding company.
Previous Queen’s Awards achieved by individual parts of the group have included those for exports and technological achievement. AESSEAL plc, the group’s main mechanical seal manufacturing centre in Rotherham has been the recipient of 13 Queen’s Awards over the years, including individual sustainability awards in 2009 and 2022.
The British-owned group’s core products are manufactured in Rotherham. They are used by major industries globally to prevent the leakage of liquids and gases into the environment, thereby preventing environmental damage as well as avoiding a health and safety risk.
AES’s seal support systems have prevented enormous quantities of water being unnecessarily consumed in industrial processes. A total of 42,000 of these systems have been installed around the world over the past decades, saving an estimated 1.6 trillion litres of water – enough to supply the population of South Yorkshire for over 20 years.
These and other savings by companies using group products translate into a reduced carbon footprint and better environmental record by significant sectors of global industry, far outweighing AES’s own direct and indirect energy use, and the cost to the environment of the group’s supply chain.
The AES Engineering Ltd group achieved Net Zero on all scopes in its global operations in 2021 and to date has committed £21 million out of the £29 million it pledged to devote to environmental investments by in the UK and worldwide by 2029.
The group’s Net Zero calculations, verified by the leading standards body, BSI, show that its global operations had a net benefit to the environment during 2021-24 equivalent to more than 1.1 million tonnes of CO2e saved. That’s approximately the same as the CO2 absorbed by 15 million trees over the same period.
Rotherham United chairman Tony Stewart raised the King’s Flag within the grounds of the firm’s Mill Close site in a ceremony held to mark the occasion.
Mr Stewart said: “I have known Chris and the business he has been in for 30 years and watched its growth and success. I have also noticed the generosity of Chris and what he has done for the community.
“What I can say is that I am proud to be a friend of the business and I am proud to witness its growth, and it is lovely to see so many young people contributing to a fantastic company.”
To find out more about AES Engineering Ltd, visit their website here
