FAST-GROWING robot vehicle-maker SMD has made the finals of a national awards.

The Wallsend firm, which hopes to turn over £120m this year, has been shortlisted for two prizes in the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Manufacturing Excellence Awards 2011.

SMD, which makes subsea and remotely-operated vehicles and has already landed a Queen’s Award for Enterprise this year, is in the running for the Customer Focus and Financial Management titles.

Colin Brown, director of engineering at the institution, said: “SMD is a fantastic business that is helping to ensure manufacturing remains at the heart of Newcastle’s economy.

“It is exciting to see a company excelling in such diverse parts of its business and we hope the company can inspire more local manufacturers to take part and benefit from the Manufacturing Excellence programme.”

Assessors and moderators for the awards visited the company this week. Manufacturing Excellence, run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, is a well-established manufacturing support programme in the UK, and the only one that provides a detailed benchmarking and assessment process to help improve manufacturing businesses.

As part of the Manufacturing Excellence programme, companies are asked to conduct an in-depth self-assessment and those who complete one or more of the eight parts receive a free, bespoke and confidential benchmark report.

The winning companies in each category will receive an award at the Manufacturing Excellence Award Ceremony in London in November.

SMD employs more than 300 people and is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of remote intervention equipment, working in hazardous environments worldwide.

It exports most of its products and has offices in Yorkshire, Singapore, the US and Brazil.