A NORTHWICH woman has been awarded an MBE in recognition of her services to business and the community.

Dr Julie Madigan, chief executive of The Manufacturing Institute, was named in the Queen’s birthday honours list 2014.

For the past 20 years she has led The Manufacturing Institute, a charity dedicated to driving up standards of manufacturing professionalism and engaging the public with the ongoing transformation of UK and global manufacturing.

She said: "I am enormously proud to receive this honour and of the Manufacturing Institute's achievements.

“Manufacturing is crucial to the UK's economic success and for the past 20 years we've championed British industry and developed ever higher standards.

“We've educated more than 50,000 manufacturers in best practice, delivered hands-on shop floor improvements at more than 9,000 manufacturing sites and worked with 60,000 children to introduce a next generation of talent to the sector."

Julie began her career at pharmaceuticals giant Ciba.

Prior to that she worked in research and has a BSc (Hons) and PhD in Biochemistry and a Master’s degree in Business Administration.

She is an advisory group board member of the All-Party Parliamentary Manufacturing Group, a member of the Board of Advancing Quality Alliance (AqUA), and a Board member of the University of Manchester Aerospace Research Institute.

She is also a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts, Manufacture and Commerce, and was a founding Director of Migrant Workers North West.