The HEX Group has been announced as a finalist for the Employer of the Year Award at the 2026 Staffordshire Chambers Business Awards, sponsored by Consultiv Utilities.

Six divisions, 550 employees and a record £69m turnover in 2025 make The HEX Group one of the UK’s leading subcontract metal manufacturing businesses. The Hixon-based group backed that growth with a £1.1m workforce pay investment during the cost-of-living crisis, a twice-yearly performance bonus and a Centre of Excellence opened in March 2025 as a dedicated training and development hub.

A Behavioural Based Safety programme has reduced reported accidents by 80%. HEXFEST, the group’s employee festival, attracted over 3,500 people in 2024. An Ideas Portal, three-year Accelerate Programme and Managed Apprenticeship Scheme complete a people offer that is broad and consistently invested in.

Stuart Elford, Chief Executive of Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce, said: “The HEX Group has built something genuinely impressive across six divisions and 550 people, and the culture that runs through all of it is evident in everything from HEXFEST to the £1.1m pay investment they made when their workforce needed it most. An 80% reduction in reported accidents, a Centre of Excellence, and an Ideas Portal that rewards colleagues for contributing to the future of the business. This is an employer that puts its people first in a way that is measurable and sustained.”

The winners will be revealed at a gala awards ceremony at Uttoxeter Racecourse on Thursday 9 July 2026, followed by The After Party, a late-night celebration for finalists, winners and partners.

To find out more about the 2026 Staffordshire Chambers Business Awards, visit staffordshirechambers.co.uk/awards.