Ten things we loved in 2021

As we fly into action in 2022, we thought we’d pause and take a look back at last year, our 20th in business, here at DPS Group.

It was a successful 12 month period, in which we also took some important steps to strengthen our operations.

Here’s our top ten… 

1. We’ll drink to that!

Our team worked with a major Scottish spirit provider to deliver five significant projects across Scotland. Slàinte Mhath!

  • DCS upgrade at Whyte and Mackay Invergordon distillery
  • New Blend Centre at East Kilbride
  • New Spirit handling in Elgin
  • New spirit management system in Kirkcaldy
  • Bio energy plant network and SCADA improvements

2. Building up the board

We strengthened our board of directors, as part of future-proofing our business, and rewarding excellence. Peter Scott was promoted to Service Director, whilst Michael Scott became Finance Director.

These were just two of a number of changes made to add resilience and expertise in the right areas for the years ahead.

3. Strong recognition from Siemens

As a member of Siemens Solution Partner Programme we were delighted to receive accreditation for our extensive experience in food and beverage (F&B) and our commitment to future development with the latest technologies (Industrial Edge).

Being part of the programme ensures that we are able to access important sales and technical information, helping us keep us ahead of the curve in terms of delivering inventive, efficient, smart solutions across a range of sectors. 

4. Award winning!

We celebrated a big win at one of the UK’s most prestigious engineering awards, after being named SME of the Year at the ECI Training & Development Awards 2021 in London.

We also made a huge investment in our people, with a major training programme developed with the support of ECITB.

Three new Modern Apprentices (MA) joined our team, too, and one of our employees completed their MA programme, too!

5. Rock solid

Following an update to Rockwell Automation’s systems integration partner programme, we secured accreditation as an official Silver Partner.

This means we’re trusted to deliver the highest technical solutions and customer service that use Rockwell Automation technologies, because of our knowledge, experience and ability to deliver across a broad geography.

6. Takes the biscuit

We continued to work with long-term clients Burton’s Biscuits at their iconic Edinburgh factory, supporting upgrades and improvements as people continued to consume lots of confectionery-based products in the pandemic.

7. Flying high on research

We’ve kicked-off a major research and development project with the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland, the Advanced Forming Research Centre at the University of Strathclyde and Boeing at a new centre in Renfrewshire.

8. Continuing to grow with Cockayne

Our team has continued to help the growth of one of the most established filling and disgorging solutions companies , breathing new life into it as part of our joint venture with Edwards Engineering.

Using our intelligently engineered process control systems, we delivered a number of new filling and disgorging solutions to distilleries across the country.

9. ISO good!

We obtained or recertified some of our key ISO accreditations including ISO 45001 (health & safety), ISO 14001 (environmental) and ISO 9001 (management systems).

On top of that we passed our Achilles audit with top marks, literally – 100%!

10. Baby boom (and more)

We had lots of family joy in 2021, too. Five new babies were welcomed to the world, and two of our colleagues got married. We’re wishing them every happiness!