SN Wins Manufacturer Award

Smith & Nephew Plc
18 October 2007



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



Smith & Nephew wins prestigious Manufacturer of the Year 2007 award



October 18 2007



The Advanced Wound Management business of Smith & Nephew plc (LSE: SN; NYSE:SNN)
announced today that it has won the Manufacturer of the Year 2007 award,
together with a number of other awards, presented at an awards ceremony held at
The Ricoh Arena in Coventry last night.



The awards are made by The Manufacturer magazine, celebrating manufacturing best
practice and recognising world class achievement in British manufacturing. The
awards were hosted by Rupert Pennant-Rea who has had a varied career as an
economist, journalist, central banker and businessman. He has been Editor of The
Economist and Deputy Governor of the Bank of England and is now chairman of
Henderson Group plc.  The judging panel for the Manufacturer of the Year award
included a panel comprising senior representatives from the manufacturing
industry, manufacturing orientated academia and industrial journalism.



As well as the overall Manufacturer of the Year award which is awarded at the
discretion of the judges, from companies short-listed in all award categories,
the Advanced Wound Management business also walked away with the award for World
Class Manufacturing, for the sustained and progressive achievement of world
class manufacturing standards, Manufacturing Operations, for achieving world
class manufacturing standards through the interaction of machines, processing
steps and tasks to be performed, Skills and Productivity, in recognition of
initiatives that have increased productivity through the enhancement of employee
skills and improving the perception of manufacturing careers. Smith & Nephew
were also a finalist in the Energy and Environment award.



Paul Adams, Senior Vice President Global Operations said, 'These awards are
testimony to the fact that we have now reached world class benchmark standards
in manufacturing, when you look at the tough competition, with finalists
including, amongst others BAE Systems Submarine Solutions, Blackburn MicroTech
Solution, InterfaceFLOR, Southern Salads, KAS Technologies Group, Saint Gobain
Glass, Redshape Sheet Metal and Boss Design.'



Noel Waters, former Operations Director for the Hull site and now Managing
Director China Operations said, 'Winning the Manufacturer of the Year award was
a key part of our Hull manufacturing site Vision, which we set out to achieve
four years ago.  In that vision the target was to win this very award this year.
More importantly the key performance and business targets which were fundamental
to the vision are on track for delivery.  Winning this award was not an end in
itself, but it stands as testament to and recognition at a national level, of
the transformation of our operations to world class standards.  I take enormous
pride in what the workforce of the Hull plant have achieved and take delight in
the prestige and honour which we have brought to Smith & Nephew and to the city
of Hull.'





Enquiries



Sidonie Myers                                           Tel: [phone]
Head of Communication
Smith & Nephew Advanced Wound Management
[e-mail]




Notes for Editors



Further information and photographs are available via the following link:
http://www.themanufacturer.com/live/


About Us


Smith & Nephew Advanced Wound Management is headquartered in the United Kingdom.
The organisation has manufacturing centres in the United Kingdom and Largo, FL.


Smith & Nephew is a global medical technology business, specialising in
Orthopaedic Reconstruction, Orthopaedic Trauma and Clinical Therapies, Endoscopy
and Advanced Wound Management products.  Smith & Nephew is a global leader in
arthroscopy and advanced wound management and is one of the leading global
orthopaedics companies.


Smith & Nephew is dedicated to helping improve people's lives.  The Company
prides itself on the strength of its relationships with its surgeons and
professional healthcare customers, with whom its name is synonymous with high
standards of performance, innovation and trust.  The Company operates in 32
countries around the world.  Annual sales in 2006 were nearly $2.8 billion.



Forward-Looking Statements



This press release contains certain 'forward-looking statements' within the
meaning of the US Private

Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In particular, statements regarding
expected revenue growth and trading margins discussed under 'Outlook' are
forward-looking statements as are discussions of our product pipeline. These
statements, as well as the phrases 'aim', 'plan', 'intend', 'anticipate',
'well-placed', 'believe', 'estimate', 'expect', 'target', 'consider' and similar
expressions, are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other important factors (including, but not limited to, the outcome of
litigation, claims and regulatory approvals) that could cause the actual
results, performance or achievements of Smith & Nephew, or industry results, to
differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed
or implied by such forward-looking statements. Please refer to the documents
that Smith & Nephew has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including Smith &
Nephew's most recent annual report on Form 20F, for a discussion of certain of
these factors.



All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information
available to Smith & Nephew as of the date hereof. All written or oral
forward-looking statements attributable to Smith & Nephew or any person acting
on behalf of Smith & Nephew are expressly qualified in their entirety by the
foregoing. Smith & Nephew does not undertake any obligation to update or revise
any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in Smith &
Nephew's expectation with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or
circumstances on which any such statement is based.






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