Our favourite things of 2015
2015 has undoubtedly been a challenging year across the industry and has certainly seen much turmoil in the wider world as well, so we thought, as we look back at the last twelve months, we'd focus on the positives and simply pick out a few of our favourite things from all the news stories we've covered this year.
If you missed any of these, why not follow us on social media? Our Twitter and Facebook feeds bring you stories like these each week, as well as everything that's happening with us here at Corrotherm. We're also on LinkedIn and Google+, too.
We'd like to take this opportunity to send season's greetings to all our friends, customers, partners and colleagues. We wish you a merry and peaceful festive season, and a happy and prosperous 2016!
Our top 5 favourites
1) May - Our CEO and founder Jan Ward was made Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for her services to business and for the prominent role she plays within the business community at both a national and international level. Jan (or Ma'am, as we now call her!) was invited to Buckingham Palace and received her award from HRH Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales. A very-well deserved honour, and a very proud team here at Corrotherm.
2) July - the salt-water powered lamp. Changing lives (and carbon footprints) in the Philippines, this simple invention has brought low carbon lighting to the many rural homes there without electricity. SALt – Sustainable Alternative Lighting – has metal rods acting as electrodes and the salt water acting as the conductor. Refreshing the salt water daily brings eight up to hours of light, while a USB port on the side of the lantern can also charge electronic devices. We loved this application of engineering to improve quality of life and help the planet.
3) September - world's largest-ever Meccano construction was unveiled in Belfast: a 100 ft long footbridge over the city's Clarendon Dock. Around 11,000 pieces of Meccano were used to build the bridge, which weighs 600kg (about 1,300lbs). If you count all the nuts and bolts and washers as well, there's approximately 70,000 pieces. The year-long project was created by civil engineering students at Queen's University Belfast and local schools. We thought it's a great project to inspire tomorrow's engineers. And who doesn't love Meccano?!
4) November - our CEO Jan Ward CBE received an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from Southampton Solent University. Southampton-born Jan's career has taken her all over the world, but she remains passionate her home city. As a mechanical engineer with over 30 years’ experience in metals manufacturing and distribution, Jan's honour is thoroughly well-deserved. What's more, she's keen to inspire the next generation of engineers and entrepreneurs, frequently giving talks about her career and experiences to young people and students.
5) December - Tim Peake becomes the first British ESA astronaut in space. Tim's mission has brought science and exploration into the spotlight, and we love the fact that he's really engaging with schools and young people. Did you know, his mission patch was designed in a Blue Peter competition?! The UK will need an extra million engineers by 2020, according to recent research from the Royal Academy of Engineering, so inspiring the tomorrow's engineers is of vital importance. And the best bit, as far as we're concerned? The fact that some of the experiments Major Tim will be working on during his six-month stay in space will involve melting metal alloys in the weightless environment. We can't wait to see what he finds out!
We hope you've enjoyed our round-up of 2015. Once again, we wish you compliments of the season, and a happy and successful year ahead. We look forward to hearing from you soon!
