Leamington automotive firm wins UK’s top business award
Warwickshire-based engineering specialist, Drive System Design (DSD), has been awarded been a Queen’s Award for International Trade.
The company, headquartered on the Sydenham Industrial Estate in Leamington Spa, received the coveted accolade – the UK’s most prestigious business honour – in recognition of its sustained growth and continued expansion overseas.
DSD, which employs 82 people in the town, is a leader in the development, engineering and testing of driveline systems for electrified and conventional vehicles, supplying a growing portfolio of vehicle manufacturers worldwide.
Mark Findlay, DSD Managing Director, said: “The Queen’s Award for International Trade is a wonderful reward for our teams around the world and, in particular, at our UK headquarters in Leamington Spa.
“All our staff work tirelessly on innovative projects that help the advancement of automotive drivetrain development. I am delighted by this acknowledgement and extremely proud of everybody at DSD.”
He added: “Drive System Design has worked strategically to expand its global reach, focusing on the future needs of the automotive industry and their customers, and evolving its capabilities to address the challenges arising in the rapidly changing industry. As a result, a growing proportion of DSD revenue has come from exports.
“The automotive industry has never experienced such a need for accelerated development of, in many cases, clean-sheet drivetrain technologies. DSD is one of a significant number of automotive technology firms in Warwickshire and while we remain at the forefront of innovation in this field, DSD is expanding into defence, off-road and aerospace industries globally, demonstrating the impact of great British engineering.”
Established in 1965, The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise celebrate the success of exciting and innovative businesses which are leading the way with pioneering products or services both in the UK and overseas. The International Trade category specifically recognises outstanding growth in overseas earnings and rewards companies for demonstrating steep year-on-year growth in overseas sales.
DSD has successfully delivered an ambitious expansion plan that has seen it grow 500% over the past decade, expand its Michigan US-based subsidiary, Drive System Design Inc. with a $2m facility investment. It continues to expand activities in the Asian markets, with notable recent successes demonstrating that the DSD reputation for engineering innovation is reaching still further afield.
