Engineering firm in spotlight

A Birmingham-headquartered engineering firm has been ranked as one of the region’s best businesses to work for - and it also ranked in the top ten in the construction and engineering sector.

Multi-disciplinary firm adi Group retained its impressive one star rating in The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For survey list 2021, following a year in which the business and its 600+ staff worked hard to meet the needs of a pandemic-hit manufacturing sector.

It occupied a top 100 rating in the Midlands, also coming within the top ten businesses nationally in its field, sitting alongside the likes of housing and social care provider MEARS and global design and management consultancy Arcadis.

And the firm also managed to raise £6,600 for Heart Research UK thanks to its high levels of staff participation in the Best Companies survey.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to have once again been recognised as a top performer in the Best Companies survey,” said adi Group CEO and founder, Alan Lusty.

“At adi, we strive to deliver a continuous improvement culture, whether that’s through developing the engineers of tomorrow with our hugely successful apprenticeship programmes, or our responsible business initiatives, which challenge us to consider the environmental impact of all our actions group-wide.

“It’s been an extremely tough time for all in our industry, but we can now look forward with optimism to continuing to invest both internally and as a vital supporting network within the manufacturing sector.”

Each year, Best Companies celebrates businesses on outstanding achievements, examining their approach to employee wellbeing, leadership, personal growth, community engagement and teamwork, using a staff survey to gain insights and feedback.

The adi Group, which operates nationally with 12+ regional sites and over 2100,000 sq.ft. of manufacturing capacity, scored highly in motivating areas such as management, leadership and personal growth, with 75% of staff agreeing that the business delivers a clear and precise organisational structure, alongside valued career opportunities.

Owing strongly to this is the firm’s commitment to helping end the STEM careers gap, with both a pre-apprenticeship programme and an Apprenticeship Academy mentoring young people in a variety of engineering skillsets.

The firm also has a strong sustainable ethos, with the Best Companies survey acknowledging adi’s status as the first business in the UK to offset its fleet’s carbon emissions through the use of the BP Plus fuel card.

The partnership with BP Target Neutral means that each time a company vehicle fills up, the emissions associated with that purchase are calculated and offset, giving adi an overall carbon reduction rate of 83.9%.

“Our scores this year are testament to the hard work of all Group-wide,” said Alan. “To be recognised from both a sustainability and organisational point of view, couldn’t come at more poignant time, especially as all in our industry work hard to deliver more sustainable working practices.

“I’d like to thank the managing directors across all divisions of adi Group, as without them, this wouldn’t be possible and we wouldn’t be able to fulfil our role as a one-stop-shop engineering firm.”

The adi Group delivers specialist support to some of the world’s biggest brands, operating across sectors such as food and beverage, aerospace and defence, and the automotive industry.