‘I nearly missed out on my MBE for services to Birmingham manufacturing for a simple reason’

A Birmingham engineer who put the West Midlands on the international manufacturing map has been recognised in the New Year’s Honours List.

Rowan Crozier, CEO of metal pressing, stamping and tooling specialist Brandauer, has been awarded an MBE for services to manufacturing and enterprise.

The engineer has helped steer the Birmingham company through the pandemic and towards a record-breaking £9.3m year, sending millions of precision components to more than 26 countries every week.

He is also a passionate ambassador for developing the industry professionals of the future, revolutionising the firm’s apprenticeship scheme, and working with In-Comm Training to launch the UK’s first Precision Toolmaking Academy in late 2022.

But he almost missed out on his honour after he moved house! Rowan, who lives in Lichfield with his wife Zoe and children Tom and Evie, concluded: “I nearly missed out on the MBE notification, as we had moved house, and it went to my old address. Thankfully the new owners sent me a picture of the letter saying it looked important and the rest is history!”

Speaking of his Royal honour, Rowan said:"I am genuinely shocked to receive this award; you just never expect to be an MBE growing up and certainly not for, in my opinion, just doing my job," commented Rowan Crozier, who is also an Export Champion for the Department for International Trade. 

"This is an accolade for my family and my teams at Brandauer and Support Staffordshire, who have worked so hard to support me and help us emerge from the pandemic in a stronger position than the one we entered. Importantly, both organisations have strong platforms from which to maximise future opportunities.”

He continued: "It is especially refreshing for manufacturing to get the national recognition it deserves. Industry is so important to the economic success of the UK and hopefully my MBE shows our engineers of the future and their parents that you can achieve the highest personal honour by following a passion for Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM)."

In addition to his manufacturing role, Rowan has been a trustee for Support Staffordshire since 2018, an organisation that provides support to over 1000 other charities and community groups operating in Staffordshire, groups that in turn provide a wide variety of essential services to local residents. The group offers advice and guidance to other charities on vital matters such as funding, training, new policies, and volunteer recruitment. He shares his experience and knowledge with the board and has helped support them towards a new strategy that will ensure the charity’s future sustainability. Organised fundraising events, such as Horse Racing days, have also improved links between businesses and the third sector in the area, generating more than £20,000 of vital funding for Support Staffordshire in the process.