Businesswoman shortlisted for national honour
Smethwick-based Kirsty Davies-Chinnock, managing director of Professional Polishing Services, is a finalist in the business woman of the year category at the Women of the Year luncheon and awards 2023.
As the largest mechanical surface finishing company in the UK, PPS mechanically polishes 25,000 tonnes of free issue stainless steel and other non-ferrous metals each year. It is estimated that in the UK, most people will come into contact with the firm’s finishes around 30 times a day, such as when taking medication, using a light switch, getting on a train or even eating at a restaurant.
Kirsty is a firm believer in the value of partnerships, adhering to the business motto at PPS, ‘Your Partner in Polishing’.
She explained: “We take partnership aspects very seriously and this has enabled us to grow over the last 40 years and we still deal today with the individuals who gave us our very first order back in 1983. We are passionate about getting the right finish for the right industry and ‘just in time’ is something we excel at. This is demonstrated by the repeat business on a daily basis from the stockholding industry."
With more than 30 years’ experience in the metals sector, one of Kirsty’s biggest achievements is securing a position as the youngest and only the second female chairman of the British Stainless Steel Association. She is passionate about ensuring that women in manufacturing and other male-dominated industrial sectors are visible, encouraging them to thrive. In support of this, Kirsty is the founder of the ‘Women in Industry’ podcast, where she talks to women who have had extensive and successful careers, as well as women who are just starting out in their career in manufacturing and engineering. She is also the founder of the Women with Metal Conference.
Kirsty is an international consultant for surface finishing on stainless steel and aluminium in both architectural applications and technical applications, such as for the nuclear and pharmaceutical industries.
Driven to drive sustainable change, Kirsty’s current project is focused on demonstrating that manufacturing can be sustainable and help in the fight against climate change. She is working to ensure that PPS has a carbon neutral factory by 2030, and is actively engaged with innovative projects with the University of Birmingham, Aston University and Swansea University to enable Factory 4 and energy reduction.
She said: “To be a finalist in such a prestigious national award which has previously been won by Karen Brady, Hilary Devey and Dr Sharon Redrobe is incredible. I have been in the audience many times at the luncheon and awards, in a room full of trail-blazing businesswomen, and I feel very privileged to be counted among them. Raising the profile of women in the manufacturing and engineering sector is something I am passionate about and being a finalist will help me to promote women in the industrial sectors in the UK, particularly the metals sector.”
The awards take place on Friday, October 13 at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole.
