Congratulations go out to the Liberty Vehicle Technologies (LVT) business, which won the much-heralded automotive category at Insider Media’s Made in the Midlands Awards for the second consecutive year last week at the Macdonald Burlington in Birmingham.

LVT, which includes innovative braking and controls businesses 920E and Shiftec, impressed the judges with the continued development of its patented electro-hydraulic control system.

Under the stewardship of managing director Anthony Blackwell (now Chief Technology Officer for Liberty Engineering), LVT’s in-house electronics team has extended its lightweight and compact steer-and-brake-by-wire technology to include other functions such as gearshift, clutch, door opening and active aerodynamics.

With an impressive track record in supplying to the motorsport industry, LVT’s updated technology has found use in a range of specialist automotive sectors including the world’s first autonomous race car, specially developed vehicles for the Ministry of Defence and academic development of on-street drones that support vehicle AI research.

The award is recognition for a part of the Liberty business that is undergoing exciting transformation following the start of construction on a new £10m Global Technology Centre in Leamington Spa earlier this year. The state-of-the-art centre is designed to grow Liberty’s footprint in the automotive sector, for example by helping to develop capabilities for more sustainably-fuelled and autonomous vehicles.

Laine Young, Tool Room apprentice at Liberty Pressing Solutions, Brad Taylor from Accles and Pollock, Brad Anslow from Liberty Aluminium Technologies and Jamie Garbett from Liberty Pressing Solutions Willenhall also deserve recognition for being shortlisted for the Apprentice of the Year award. Laine was highly commended in the category on the night.