8th October 2021

Hague puts manufacturing on the map after being named as one of the UK’s top 50 most ambitious business leaders

Overseeing the rapid expansion of the UK’s leading strategic manufacturing outsourcing specialist has seen Tony Hague named as one of the LDC Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders for 2021.

The CEO of PP Control & Automation (PP C&A) impressed judges with the way he has taken the business from £3m in 2001 to a projected £30m revenue this coming year, supporting more than 20 of the world’s largest machine builders.

His company’s expertise touches all our lives, whether that is in the supply of fresh milk, waterproofing mobile phones, bagging your crisps or helping F1 teams perform well in Monaco.

Investment in people and processes has been at the heart of Tony’s approach and helped beat off the challenge of over 600 nominees in the programme, which is supported by The Times and celebrates the inspiring leaders behind the country’s most successful and fast-growing medium-sized firms.

“This is a tremendous honour, but one that has only been made possible thanks to everyone who works at PP Control & Automation,”

“The last twenty months have been some of the most challenging I’ve ever known in business and all 240 staff at PP C&A have gone above and beyond to make sure we’ve continued to supply our customers, including helping produce wiring harnesses for use in the VentilatorChallengeUK consortium.”

Hague puts manufacturing on the map after being named as one of the UK’s top 50 most ambitious business leaders » Tony Hague L LDC » PP Control & Automation

He went on to add: “We are now emerging from the pandemic in a really strong position to grow and have set our sights on increasing sales to £30m by the end of this year and then a longer-term plan to move us towards annual revenues of £50m.”

The featured LDC Top 50 hail from every corner of the country and operate across a diverse range of sectors. Collectively, they employ more than 9,500 people and contribute more than £1.2bn to the UK economy.

LDC’s John Garner concluded:

“The last 18 months have presented challenges that none of us could have foreseen, but despite everything, it’s fantastic to see that so many business leaders have achieved remarkable things. Through their resourcefulness and resilience, this year’s Top 50 Most Ambitious Leaders prove that the flame of ambition is hard to extinguish.

“Congratulations to Tony and all those featured, and we look forward to seeing their continued success, impact and contribution to the broader UK economy.”

Read & Watch more on the LDC website

Read the LDC article on The Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders and how they have tackled the Covid challenge with remarkable reserves of imagination and innovative verve. You can also meet The LDC Top 50 Ambitious Business Leaders 2021 in this video.

#awards #hague

More thought-leading content

PP Control & Automation calls for a more practical approach to AI adoption in manufacturing

Ian Knight, Chief Information Officer at PP Control & Automation (PP C&A) challenges the prevailing, often vague narrative around AI adoption and reframes the conversation around a more practical starting point: operational constraints.

Smart Manufacturing Week 2026: AI & data in manufacturing panel

Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant concept for manufacturers. It is already being explored across quotation, production planning, engineering, quality, supply chain and customer service functions. Yet, for many organisations, the gap between experimentation and meaningful operational impact remains difficult to close.

Manufacturing deal set to help fish vaccination specialist scale-up

A leading aquaculture specialist – that is changing the way fish are vaccinated safely – has signed a major manufacturing deal.

The assembly advantage: how integrated assembly reduces handoffs, delays and supply chain friction

On paper, defined discipline-specific suppliers can look organised. However, every additional supplier introduces another handoff, and every handoff creates another point where time, quality, communication and accountability can be lost.

Five signs your manufacturing partners are no longer fit for purpose

Very rarely does growth not surface because an OEM lacks ambition. Shortcomings arise because operating models built to support such ambition don’t evolve quickly enough.

From commentary to conversation: why the UK must move beyond “wait and see” on technology

Recent weeks have brought two important industry moments into sharp focus, concluding that demand for AI and automation is rising, but investment, skills, and long-term thinking must follow.

Build vs. Buy vs. Blend: rethinking how machine builders design capability

For decades, one question has sat at the heart of operational strategy for machine builders and OEMs: make or buy? It’s a familiar debate and it isn’t the wrong question by any means, but perhaps it is an incomplete one.

Change is constant: How to handle Engineering Change Notices (ECNs)

In most machine building businesses, change is still treated as an exception. A late-stage drawing revision, component substitution, or wiring tweak discovered during build. Each one is handled, resolved, and signed off. And then everyone moves on. But what if that’s the wrong way to think about it? What if change isn’t the disruption to the system but the system itself?

Unlock your growth potential. Explore key services

Do you outsource?

    Realise your growth potential by making outsourcing part of your manufacturing strategy.

    At PP C&A, we never assume that a solution for one customer will work for another, because every customer is unique. That is why we will never try to simply sell you an ‘off the shelf solution’.

    We believe in meeting you, listening and understanding your needs first. If you are considering outsourcing for the first time or you wish to review your current outsourcing strategies, we would welcome the opportunity for discussion





    1. Do you outsource?

    If yes
    Do you outsource to multiple suppliers?

    2. Are you considering outsourcing or considering changing supplier?

    3. Are you experiencing barriers to growth?


    4. Would you like to arrange a consultation (call or visit) with us?

    5. Would you like to receive more information on strategic outsourcing?

    6. If you have a more specific enquiry, question or pain point, please let us know: