“A-Ward originates from a small country at the bottom of the world, further away from our markets than any of our competitors. To be nominated for such a prestigious global event as the Swedish Steel Prize is awesome,” says Simon Ward, Managing Director of A-Ward Attachments.

A young and innovative company, A-Ward Attachments is considered one of the fastest growing manufacturing companies in New Zealand. Part of its success, according to Ward, is that it works closely with its suppliers as development partners. “Teaming up with our specialist suppliers is key to this success and our continuous innovation success. I think it is one of the reasons we were nominated for the Swedish Steel Prize,” he adds.

It’s taken A-Ward Attachments two years to perfect the design of its MiSlide Compactor container loader which is manufactured completely from Hardox. Targeted at the recycling and waste sectors, it will be manufactured and sold globally.

Designed to load 20 and 40-foot containers, the MiSlide unique sliding system has state-of-the-art features that ensure safe, fast, versatile and damagefree loading. The main advantage it has over competitor products is its friction reduction slide system which eliminates the need for pushing rams, therefore making it more user-friendly; being made from robust materials, allows it to carry and move greater loads. According to A-Ward Attachments, it can load a shipping container full with scrap or waste in as little as five minutes.

The jury's view:

Recycling, which involves the use and transportation of metallic scrap, is extremely important from an environmental perspective. A-Ward has designed a flexible and innovative system consisting of two units made of high strength steel which compress, pack and transfer metallic scrap in containers. The scrap is loaded directly on to the containers saving costs and time, and the risk of damage to the containers is reduced due to the horizontal sleeve design.