Leading businessman is made an OBE by the Queen
Dr Mike Ashmead from Great Cambourne is made an OBE by Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle.Picture: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire - Credit: PA Archive/PA Images
The boss of a Huntingdon firm has been made an OBE by the Queen in a ceremony at Windsor Castle.
Dr Mike Ashmead, founder and chairman of Encocam Ltd, was awarded the honour in the Queen's birthday honours list announced in the summer.
He started the Huntingdon-based firm - which now employs more than 200 people - out of an ambition to produce his own aluminium honeycomb material and has since developed a business with expertise in the design and manufacture of composite panels and energy absorbers.
The firm began exporting in 1990 and is now one of the region's biggest exporters with more than 80 per cent of its products going overseas. It now has offices in the UK, Spain, Holland, Germany, the US and Japan.
Dr Ashmead said: "When I started the company in 1988, I did not anticipate just how much it would develop over the years. Through the hard work and dedication of many people we have grown and continue to do so."
Dr Ashmead has a BSc and PhD in chemical engineering from Aston University and worked as a chemical engineer and a process development engineer.
Since Encocam started, it has expanded to eight divisions in seven industries, ranging from energy absorbers and safety test products for the automotive sector through to composite and decorative panels, motorcycles and racing products.
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Last year the firm celebrated its 30th anniversary and in 2017 the automotive safety division was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise - International Trade.