The judging panel for this year’s Horners Award were greatly impressed by the overall design concept of the winning entry, The “Cycloc” a stylish wall mounted bicycle storage system – designed by Andrew Lang Product Design Ltd.

The product designed by ‘stunningly simple and attractive’ wall mounted bicycle storage system enables a wide variety of bicycle styles to be stored, suspended from either the frame or the seat posts. Cycloc matured the product into an injection moulded product in 2010 to supply mass market demand and to date 95% of the Cyloc’s production is exported globally, with its main markets extending as far as Australia, North America and Europe.

The product has already been awarded several distinguished

The judging panel for this year’s Horners Award were greatly impressed by the overall design concept of the winning entry, The ‘Easy Clean’ - Beside Cabinet by Kinneir Dufort.

The 'Easy Clean' from Bristol Maid™ was designed to assist in reducing unwanted healthcare associated infections. 

The design reduces the number of hard to reach corners and surfaces without cutting down patient storage.  The rotationally moulded design helps to achieve better standards of hygiene in patient care whilst maximising space, security and flexibility in operation.

The Beehaus was developed using modern plastics materials to provide bees with a safe, modern home in which to live and makes beekeeping straightforward and fun.

The judges of this year’s Award were greatly impressed by the Omlet Beehaus due to its use of plastics materials to benefit the environment and to address a topical issue, the decline in bee populations. Moreover, Omlet is the first company in the history of the Award to have won twice, having received the Award in 2004 for their ‘Eglu’ plastics Chicken Coop

A revolutionary, lightweight and environmentally friendly kerbstone system has been announced as the winner of the Horners’ Award for Plastics Design and Innovation 2008.   The judges of the Horners’ Award were greatly impressed by the overall design concept of the ‘Durakerb’ system which is manufactured from a blend of recycled polymers, and aims to help specifiers and contractors comply with Government requirements for sustainable buildings.

Phil Sutton, Managing Director of Durakerb, adds: “We are delighted to have won the Horners Award for Plastics Design and Innovation as we have a strong commitment to the highest standards of environmental performance throughout our entire product range and throughout each product’s entire life cycle. Durakerb is a cost-effective solution not only to the Health & Safety Executive’s Manual Handling Regulations but also to the ever increasing environmental performance targets now commonplace throughout the construction industry.

A thermoplastics, injection – moulded, powered Golf Trolley was  announced as the winner of the Horners’ Award 2007.
The Golf Trolley has been designed by Greaves Best Design and is manufactured by GoKart Powered Golf. Tooling, moulding and component sourcing is accessed through DT Industries.  Plastics materials are used to great effect in producing an extremely durable, light weight and low maintainance  product which is easily manoeuvrable at all elevations and on golf courses with challenging terrains.

Speaking about the thinking behind the use of plastics in the trolley, John Greaves, Partner of Greaves Best Design, said that ‘the materials selected facilitated innovation in the incorporation of springs, hinges, gears, and integral latches. Tactile qualities could be introduced which enhanced comfort and allowed a firm grip. Overall, as the components were moulded, the number of parts could be reduced with cost savings resulting’.

Sovrin Plastics was the winner of the 2006 Horners Award, an honor bestowed annually by the Worshipful Company of Horners and the British Plastics Federation. Sovrin received the honor for the “Syclix” surgical instruments for minimally invasive surgery. The company was recruited to build the tooling for the Syclix device as well as mold and assemble the product.

According to the Federation, “The ‘Syclix’ is a worthy winner of the Horners Award, which recognises innovation in plastics, in its elimination of the ring grip on regular surgical instruments, which can be restricting and tiring for surgeons. Through rolling the instrument with the forefinger and thumb, the jaws of the instrument are controlled with minimal arm movement for 180 degree rotation.”

The UltraCane is an inventive mobility aid for the blind and partially sighted. It works exactly the same way that bats "see" using ultrasonic echoes to provide users with the ability to "feel" objects in their environment through the cane's vibrations. Like the bat, the Ultracane uses ultrasonic echoes (signals that bounce off objects in the vicinity) to detect how big and how far ahead obstacles are and converts this information into vibrating buttons in its handle.

As there are a number of sensors, the can can even detect obstructions at head height. This means that the UltraCane user builds a growing spatial map of their surroundings and all the trials and user feedback suggests that this spatial awareness doesn't even require conscious effort on behalf of the user - it just happens. The additional feelings of safety and confidence reported by users is no doubt because blind and vision-impaired people have been used extensively in developing the UltraCane.

The EGLU Chicken coop (featured in PRW 4th June 2004) has now also been adapted to accommodate other small animals such as rabbits and hamsters. Seven of the structural components are rotationally moulded by HP Mouldings in HPDE in a range of elegant colors.

The EGLU is more than a cosy, fox-proof hen coop since with its hollow walls it is part of a sustainable food chain. It can be delivered direct to your home, together with a pair of hens and enough food to start them laying eggs. This young company - called Omlet Ltd.- certainly deserves continued success.