Yamazaki Mazak — Jas Cordelle. Photo: Blackheart ImageryYamazaki Mazak is celebrating the sporting successes of two of its engineers based at the company’s European Manufacturing Plant in Worcester. Emelia Hughes and Jas Cordelle have both excelled on the national and international stage this year, while continuing to achieve professionally at Mazak’s European headquarters in Worcester.
Emelia Hughes (pictured below) recently completed a three-year Level 3 Mechanical Engineering apprenticeship with the company in September this year, while at the same time making her debut at the European Field Archery Championships in Poland where she won double gold for Great Britain. Competing in the Individual Recurve Under 21 category and the Mixed Team event, Emelia secured top spot in both disciplines.
Her success follows a gold medal in the Recurve Mixed Team category at the Veronica’s Cup in Slovenia earlier this year, as well as recognition as ‘Advanced Level Apprentice of the Year’ at the
2024 Worcestershire Apprenticeship Awards. Looking ahead, Amelia has set her sights on the World Field Archery Championships in the USA in 2026, aiming to add to her growing collection of titles.
Meanwhile, Jas Cordelle, a technical support engineer at Mazak’s European Spindle Service Centre, has reinforced her reputation as one of the UK’s fastest women on two wheels by clinching the national motorcycle drag racing championship. Jas joined Mazak a decade ago as an apprentice, completing a Level 3 Foundation Diploma in Mechanical Engineering and a Level 4 HNC in Manufacturing Engineering before moving into her current role. Her racing season culminated in a spectacular 7.06sec run at the National Finals, reaching a top speed of 185mph, despite suffering engine trouble during qualifying that required her support team to rebuild the bike overnight.
Richard Smith, European Group managing director at Yamazaki Mazak, said: “Emelia and Jas are excellent examples of what is possible when passion is combined with hard work. Their enthusiasm and determination for their respective sports has been incredibly impressive to see, and we are very proud to have supported them on their individual journeys. Both Emelia and Jas bring an outstanding level of drive to their work, and this has been key to their continued professional development and success. Since joining Yamazaki Mazak as apprentices, they have continued to inspire new apprentices and colleagues — whether on the racetrack, the archery range or at the company’s European Headquarters.”
For more information about Yamazaki Mazak’s apprenticeship opportunities, visit
www.mazakeu.co.uk/apprenticeships.