A man with deep roots in Stevenage is set to receive a prestigious honour for his services to business, after more than 35 years of success.

Adrian Hawkins, who was born and raised in Stevenage, will receive the title Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his services to business.

In particular, Adrian is being recognised for his work in the welding industry, after he founded Weldability Sif and serves as managing director at Welding World.

Reflecting on the news, Adrian said: “I am so pleased to receive this honour.

"Business and industry have been important tenets in my life, through which I have sought positive, sustainable outcomes for my colleagues and my community.

"This award is a humbling recognition of a lifetime of effort in building a successful business — and working to support others in building theirs, through my role as managing director of Welding World and Chairman of biz4Biz”.

Adrian’s career in industry began in 1975 with the British Oxygen Company (BOC) and he founded Weldability Sif in 1981, which he grew from supplying one branded product in the UK, to many thousands internationally today.

The company became a highly successful and respected source for a full range of welding products, trading as Weldability, and in 2008 acquired Sif - a British welding consumables company started in 1925.

From 2014 to 2020, Adrian was appointed to the main board of the Hertfordshire LEP, serving his full six-year term and he has served as Deputy Chair of the Hertfordshire LEP from 2017 to 2020.

Adrian continues to chair the Hertfordshire LEP’s Skills and Employment Board (SAP), has championed the delivery of the Hertfordshire Opportunities Portal (HOP) and, in collaboration with the University of Hertfordshire, delivered a voluntary supporter’s network to provide a support service to businesses during the COVID pandemic.

In recent years Adrian has been a school and college governor and chairman of a multi-academy trust.

Under his tenure, Adrian established the Weldability-Sif Foundation, a charity that today supports around 40 Welder-Training Studios across the UK, which have so far delivered 18,000 qualifications.

The foundation works alongside awarding bodies, incorporating the services of FE colleges and partners with businesses such as MakeUK and EDF, to address industrial skills pipelining for the UK workforce.

And in March 2020, Adrian was appointed the independent Chairman of the Stevenage Development Board.

Adrian is leading the Board on a £50M funding bid from the Government’s Towns Fund. If successful, the bid is expected to release a further £600M in private funding for the regeneration of Stevenage, the UK’s first new town.

Described by peers as a "lifelong advocate of Stevenage", Adrian was raised in his parent's council house and subsequently launched his first business in the town.

He attended school and college in Stevenage and married wife Jennie in 1977. Together, they have two children: The oldest, Gareth, who is married to Shelley; and Alexis, who is married to Tristan Bond.

The families continue to live locally and, during 2020, welcomed grandsons, Elliott and Greyson.