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Innovative design secures Harper alumnus Young Engineer of the Year award at LAMMA 2024

Posted 29 January

Ieuan Evans receives his award from Toby Whatley, Head of Machinery and Farm Technology at Farmers Guardian.

An innovative design which began as a student research project at Harper Adams has earned an engineer a top prize at the UK’s leading farm machinery show.

Ieuan Evans from Aberystwyth was named Young Engineer of the Year at LAMMA 2024 for his Smart Slurry Pump.

The pump, which was developed in prototype as a Masters Research Project in the final year of Ieuan’s MEng Agricultural Engineering degree, is a smart telemetry system which works in real time to monitor information from a remote-controlled tractor and slurry pump.

This is then relayed to a remote operator at the applicator end of the pipeline – with several financial and environmental benefits such as a better use of the tractor fleet, less demands on labour, and the chance for operators to monitor pumping more closely and prevent bursts or leaks of slurry.

Presenting the award, Toby Whatley, Head of Machinery and Farm Technology at Farmers Guardian told Ieuan: “We were impressed by your determination in developing the Smart Slurry Pump, seeking a solution right through from your education to your start in the industry.”

Speaking after the show, Ieuan said: “It was special to see a project that countless hours had been devoted to gaining recognition at the pinnacle of UK agricultural engineering, the LAMMA show.

“The project had gained the attention of fellow students and lecturers during its early stages and I was so happy that it caught the attention of the judges at LAMMA.”

Ieuan credits his studies at Harper Adams and his industry placement year with helping him get a foothold in industry – and for making him a ‘well-rounded’ engineer.

He added: “Currently I'm the Engineering and Technical Manager at Storth Machinery, the UK experts in slurry management.

“There is no question that my studies at Harper Adams helped me get to a senior position in the industry within a short period of time.

“Firstly my placement year - that I also undertook at Storth Machinery - allowed me to jump back into the industry after finishing my studies.

“What we were taught in Harper with the split between theoretical and practical is also a massive boost in the workplace, as it allows you to become a well-rounded engineer and gain respect from everyone, be it factory staff or highest management.

“Harper Adams is a University like no other, the facilities and staff that were on hand are second to none, be it access to the workshops, offices, farm or library, it was the ideal place to start an award-winning project.

“Speaking to so many fellow ex Harper students at LAMMA we all said the same thing - we all worked hard and played hard, and this made us the engineers that we are today!”