Forge and Equip Celebrates Recognition in Three Award Categories
We’re incredibly proud to share some exciting news from Forge and Equip.
This year, our small social enterprise has been recognised across three award categories, celebrating innovation, community impact and the family effort behind our work.
Forge and Equip has been shortlisted for Social Enterprise Innovation of the Year 2026 at the Social Enterprise Scotland Awards. We’re looking forward to being part of this event and being inspired by a vast range of organisations.
We’re also delighted to have been named finalists in two categories at the Midlothian and East Lothian Business Awards 2026:
Best Community Impact
Family Business of the Year
For an organisation that has only recently celebrated its second anniversary, this recognition means a huge amount to us.
Recognising a Different Way of Doing Business
Forge & Equip was created around a simple idea: that practical skills can create opportunities.
Through welding, fabrication and hands-on learning, we aim to support people to build skills, confidence and pathways towards employment, training or new opportunities. At the same time, our commercial fabrication work helps us create income and sustainability for the organisation.
Being shortlisted for Social Enterprise Innovation of the Year is particularly meaningful because it recognises this approach — combining a working fabrication business with meaningful opportunities for people who may face barriers to employment. We know there aren’t many (if any?!) fabrication firms which are also social enterprises so it’s encouraging to see our niche has been noticed!
Community at the Heart of What We Do
Our nomination for Best Community Impact reflects something we see every day in the workshop.
Forge & Equip would not exist without the people who have chosen to be part of the journey. Our participants, volunteers, customers, funders, supporters and partner organisations have all played a role in helping us grow. Community isn’t only about our direct beneficiaries. It’s about enabling our funders to see that their investment matters. It’s about reducing waste and showing what can be made with ‘scrap’.
Over the past two years, we’ve welcomed people into the workshop to learn new skills, supported participants to progress towards qualifications and employment, introduced adults and young people to welding and continued developing practical opportunities for our local community.
Every small success is a reminder of why this work matters.
A Family Effort
Being named a finalist for Family Business of the Year is also something that means a great deal to us.
Like many small organisations, Forge & Equip has been built with plenty of hard work behind the scenes. It has taken long hours, encouragement, patience and support from our family and the people around us to get to where we are today.
While Daniel may be the person most often seen behind the welding mask, Forge & Equip has always been very much a team, and a family effort with he and Linsey the main players!
Thank You
We’re incredibly grateful for this recognition, but even more grateful for everyone who has supported Forge & Equip along the way.
Whether you’ve attended a session, volunteered, commissioned a fabrication project, donated materials, provided funding, shared our work or simply encouraged us, you have helped us reach this point.
We’re excited to attend the upcoming awards and celebrate alongside so many other organisations and businesses doing great things across Scotland and our local communities.
Whatever happens on the night, being recognised in these three categories is already something we’re incredibly proud of.
Thank you for being part of the journey.