At Inprela, we often get requests from our manufacturing clients to identify award opportunities that fit their current marketing or business goals. We get it often enough that we figured it was due time to share these opportunities with you, too.
Before we jump into our compilation, it’s safe to say not all of these awards will fit into your comprehensive programming. We usually suggest pursuing award opportunities to our clients with innovative products, if industry recognition is a priority of theirs and/or it supports goals set by marketing or the business. Because not every award opportunity is going to get you to the right audience, reach or be within your budget, or be something you’re qualified for, please remember to apply with quality, not in quantity.
Note: All entry fees and submission deadlines are subject to change. Inprela, unfortunately, has no say in what price is right or changes to the organizer’s timelines.
Innovation awards
The following three award opportunities are great for companies that are launching an industry-changing product or have breakthrough talent that deserves recognition. They can increase your exposure, but unless something or someone is top of mind while reading the descriptions, this probably isn’t the right opportunity for you right now.
Edison Awards
The Edison Awards honors true innovations from across the globe. It recognizes both creators and products or services that are evaluated on four key criteria: concept, value, delivery and impact. This award’s audience is wide ranging, from consumers to C-suite executives. Submissions are accepted from August through November 2019.
Highly regarded, the Edison Awards is competitive, but well-worth the investment if what you’re nominating is truly innovative.
Fees: Nominations range from $895-$1,095, dependent on when you enter.
Apply here.
Manufacturing Leadership Awards
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) presents the Manufacturing Leadership Awards each year to recognize individuals, as well as projects and companies in manufacturing, who demonstrate achievement in shaping the future of global manufacturing. The NAM’s Manufacturing Leadership Council selects one winner in each of its 12 categories, ranging from highly-specific categories like Industrial IoT Leadership to more broad categories like Visionary Leadership.
This award’s audience includes manufacturing companies and leaders from around the world. Please note: software and services companies are not eligible. Submissions close mid-January 2020.
Fees: Each nomination costs $295.
Apply here.
R&D 100 Awards
The R&D 100 Awards, hosted by R&D Magazine, identify the top 100 products, technologies and services revolutionizing a broad range of industries. This opportunity looks for pioneers in science and technology creating the most significant innovations within product categories of mechanical devices/materials, IT/electrical, analytical/test, process/prototyping and software/services. Submissions close in early May 2020.
If you want to gain the attention of research and development professionals and top executive leaders, this award can be an opportunity to earn media coverage recognizing your innovational efforts.
Fees: Each nomination costs $450.
Apply here.
Plant awards
Pursuing awards that recognize plants is a perfect chance to celebrate those working every day to make continued improvements in their manufacturing processes. If you’re just beginning new processes, consider giving your plants some time to work out the kinks before submitting.
AME Excellence Award
Are you a part of lean thinking manufacturing or healthcare organization that is committed to continuous operations improvement? Hosted by The Association for Manufacturing Excellence, the AME Excellence Award recognizes single plants or operating units that display an unceasing effort to creatively improve and innovate their systems model. If this sounds like a potential fit, you have until late February 2020 to apply.
While this award requires a larger financial commitment than our other recommendations, it represents those that push forward entire industry practices and standards. Being recognized by this association brings exposure to a premier organization of like-minded manufacturing and healthcare peers.
Fees: The application costs $4,000, with additional costs of $6,000 to $12,000 for travel expenses during judges’ plant assessment site visit.
Apply here.
IndustryWeek Best Plants Awards
If the commitment of the AME Excellence Award is not an ideal fit, but you believe your plant still deserves recognition, this might be the perfect opportunity for you. The IndustryWeek Best Plant Awards, put on by IndustryWeek, distinguishes North American manufacturing plants that are on the leading edge in customer satisfaction, work environments and competition. The awards look for those that consistently improve strategies and work to adopt world-class practices and technology.
Winners of this award gain national recognition from professionals across the North American manufacturing industry. If you hope to be named a 2020 winner, the submission deadline is in early May 2020.
Fees: $495 to $1,495, depending on the size of your company.
Apply here.
Design awards
Although manufacturing is the industrial backbone of our country, it’s also a precise art form in its own right. If you feel your company has created true masterpieces requiring skill and outside-the-box thinking, this could be the category for you.
Red Dot Award
The Red Dot Award is an international competition that recognizes the latest high-quality designs. There are three disciplines within this competition including: product design, brands & communication design and design concepts & prototypes. Garnering international attention, this award’s audience includes professionals across product and design industries and winners are presented in the Red Dot Design Museums in Essen, Singapore and Xiamen.
To be considered, submissions are accepted at different times depending on category. For the design concepts & prototypes discipline, the deadline should close end of March 2020, for the brand & communication design discipline it should close end of June 2020 and for the product design discipline, we expect submissions will close in early February 2020.
Fees: $300 to $510, depending on the date of submission.
Apply here.
International Design Excellence Awards
From automotive to children’s products to medical, the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) celebrates exceptional design achievements in a wide range of categories. The Industrial Designers Society of America has created a competition with a category for everyone, and applications are due by mid-March 2020.
Winners become part of a collection at The Henry Ford Museum and receive international exposure for their designs. With an award following comprised of industrial design professionals that expand across product categories like they stretch across the globe, the breadth of this opportunity allows for it to be a potential fit for many different manufacturers.
Fees: $355 up to $1,360 per application, depending on membership status and continuation in the competition.
Apply here.
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