Last Friday night at the South Huron Rec Centre was a great example of the talent that exists in Huron County.

As reported elsewhere in this week’s Times-Advocate, the Huron Manufacturing Association held its annual Huron Manufacturing Excellence Awards, recognizing the accomplishments of our local firms. The awards banquet travels around the county from year to year and this year it was Exeter’s turn to host.  

And as is usually the case, South Huron manufacturers did us proud, with Exeter’s Syfilco Ltd., leading the way, going home with the Innovative Manufacturing, Innovative Product and Exporting awards.

But last Friday’s awards night wasn’t just about the competition; it was also about celebrating and learning about the world-class manufacturers that exist in Huron County and ship their products all over the globe. Booklets handed out at the banquet profiled the nominated businesses and video clips were shown as winners walked up on stage to accept their awards.

All in all, recognizing and honouring our manufacturers this way is an exceptional idea and congratulations should go out to the winners and nominees, the awards committees and the Huron Manufacturing Association.

We should all take the time to learn about the local companies that create innovative products and create jobs. The Huron Manufacturing Excellence Awards go a long way towards informing us about what’s right in our own backyard.