Forth, which provides world-first engineering solutions in a diverse range of industries, is celebrating after winning the Best Community Involvement trophy at the in-Cumbria Business Awards. The company prides itself on supporting the local areas it serves and in the past 12 months alone, has donated more than 1,000 hours of practical expertise to the community, almost 600hr of work experience for school pupils, and was the driving force behind relighting Whitehaven’s iconic Wave structure. The company has facilities in Flimby, Cleator Moor, and Barrow-in-Furness.
Managing director Mark Telford said: “As a Cumbrian company employing people across the county, community means everything to Forth and we are always delighted to be able to use our experience and expertise to help make our communities even better places to live, work and visit.
Forth played an integral role in relighting the iconic Wave landmark on Whitehaven’s harbour earlier this year to coincide with the King’s coronation in May, bringing light back to the structure for the first time in more than six years. Working in collaboration with charity Whitehaven Harbour Commissioners (WHC), Forth provided 400m of environmentally friendly LED lights and used the latest 3-D printing technology to make 800 translucent brackets to allow maximum light through the silicon rubber casing while also being resilient to all weather conditions.
Relighting the WaveMr Telford said: “Relighting the Wave was exactly the type of challenge we love at Forth and we were delighted to come up with a sustainable, cost-effective solution which will hopefully bring a lot of joy to the wider community for years to come.”
Mr Telford and Graham Cartwright, Forth’s projects director, sit on multiple boards which are solely aimed at supporting local communities. Mr Cartwright said: “Times are hard for lots of people and Cumbrian companies feel that too. Supporting the community for us isn’t just about handing out money to good causes, it’s about making a real, lasting and sustainable impact by giving up our time and sharing our skills and expertise to support a whole range of people and organisations. Getting hands-on and helping out where we can is where we feel we can best support our communities.”
To complement the work Forth does in the community, Mr Telford was recently appointed as a board member of Whitehaven Harbour Commissioners where he will undertake work on a voluntary basis to continue improving the town and surrounding areas.
He concluded: "Another way we support the community is by providing sustainable employment for people from the local area and being an SME our team members often wear multiple hats, and with their roots in the community are passionate about giving back.”