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US group Aurora Specialty Textiles wins operational excellence awards

06 May '21

3 min read

Pic: Aurora Speicalty Textiles

Aurora Specialty Textiles Group, a US-based global leader in coating, dyeing and finishing of both woven and non-woven fabrics, has won awards for outstanding business and manufacturing practices from the Valley Industrial Association (VIA). VIA’s Excellence in Operations Award recognises leadership in operational strategic planning and implementation.

This company won an award for operational excellence for the second year in a row. The awards were announced April 28, 2021, at the annual VIA Spark Awards Benchmarking for Excellence celebration. In addition to Operational Excellence, Aurora won the awards for Innovation for a company of 51 to 250 employees and for Overall Most Improved.

The innovation award recognises companies that cultivate a culture of innovation and have an innovation process to engage employees, capture ideas, provide benefits for customers, as well as drive business initiatives.

Overall, most improved celebrates continual improvement year after year in the areas of safety, workforce development, innovation, culture, operational excellence and social responsibility. Aurora was most improved out of all of the companies, of all sizes, that vied for this award.

According to the company's release, Aurora was also a finalist in the category for social responsibility, which reflects its continual improvements and contributions in the areas of sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

“Even during a year of immense and unprecedented challenges, we managed to make improvements in social responsibility, innovation, operational excellence, safety, culture and workforce development,” Marcia Ayala, president at Aurora, said in a press release.

“The awards speak to the great employees we have at Aurora and our continuous focus on improvement,” Ayala added. “The awards also demonstrate a consistent effort and focus throughout the Aurora organisation. Thanks to all Aurora employees! I am very proud and appreciative.”

In 2019 Aurora was recognised by the Sign Graphics Industry Association (SGIA) for excellence in implementing sustainability practices throughout their Yorkville plant. In 2019, Aurora was also recognised for its sustainability programmes by the Yorkville Chamber of Commerce, which designated Aurora as a Green Connect business. In February of 2020, Aurora was the recipient of the Yorkville Chamber of Commerce annual Green Business of the Year award. And in 2020, Aurora won the VIA’s award for Operational Excellence.

“We look forward to the VIA benchmark results every year to evaluate how we compare to our peers and to help us define plans that address areas of improvement,” Ayala said in the release. “A great deal can be learned about your business’ competitiveness through organisations, such as the VIA, which provides a wide range of resources for manufacturers related to learning best practices and sharing opportunities for improvement. Thanks to the VIA and to Aurora’s employees for making this possible.”

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (JL)