AYLESFORD Newsprint has been hailed as a trailblazer for manufacturing excellence.

The company was a finalist in the Manufacturing Excellence Awards held by the Department of Trade and Industry.

At a special reception held in London, Department of Trade and Industry Minister Nigel Griffths said: "Manufacturing matters. It creates a fifth of our national output, it employs four million people and it produces the majority of our exports.

"It is a key driver of innovation in the rest our economy through advances in technology, new goods and processes.

"The success of UK manufacturing is crucial to our country's prosperity, both now and in the future."