The second Vending Industry Awards took place on Thursday night, at a sparkling celebratory dinner and ceremony at the Palace Hotel in Manchester. With over 225 guests, the evening was a huge success, honouring and rewarding the hard work and excellent service provided by outstanding individuals and businesses in the sector.
Guests were greeted by a champagne reception, followed by a delicious three course meal. After Dinner Speaker Barry Williams hosted the Awards with his famed humour and charm, and guest comedian Ian Irving’s stand-up routine entertained and delighted guests.
Industry members were invited to nominate operators, manufacturers and suppliers who have shown exceptional service and innovation in the past twelve months for a variety of award categories.
The winners were:
Route Operator of the Year (Sponsored by Vendman)
Nicola Honour, Express Vending
Service Engineer of the Year (Sponsored by N&W Global Vending Ltd)
Peter Collings, Cambridge Vending
Supervisor of the Year (Sponsored by Douwe Egberts)
Tricia Connelly , Excel Vending
Best Cup Company (Sponsored by Microfilter)
Huhtamaki
Best Ingredients Company (Sponsored by Coffetek)
Lavazza
Best Machine Company (Sponsored by Nestle)
Coffetek
Best Components Company (Sponsored by Brands2Hands)
H20
Best Ancillary Service to the Industry (Sponsored by PepsiCo (Walkers Snacks))
Allpure
Best Environmental Initiative (Sponsored by Lavazza)
Brita
Innovation Award (Sponsored by Comestero Group)
Coffetek
EDCWA Best Environmental Initiative (Sponsored by Pureflo)
AA First
EDWCA – Innovation Award (Sponsored by Aqua Cure)
H20
EDWCA – Best New Product (Sponsored by Microfilter)
Watership Down
EDWCA – Best Marketing Campaign (Sponsored by Cosmetal)
H20
Hannah Dedman, Publishing Director for Vending International, commented, “The success of last year’s Vending Industry Awards augured well for 2014, and last night’s success was testament to the enthusiasm of the industry. The response we received to the awards was fantastic, allowing companies and individuals to shine and be rewarded for the successes of the past year.”
Jonathan Hilder, CEO of the AVA, said, “The 2014 Vending Awards have been another great success. With more entrants and votes than last year, the vending industry is really getting behind these awards. The AVA and VI teams have been able to show the real benefit to companies attending and taking part. The level of entries continues to rise and I have been particularly impressed by the ones in the Route Operator, Best Engineers and Best Supervisor categories. All the finalists attending tonight are winners – all we have done is chosen the colour of their medal. They are a real credit to their companies and the vending industry.
“All companies who take part help raise the bar in vending and show our customers that we are very capable of taking on the high street and producing great drinks, innovative food, levels of service and technological advanced equipment which the consumer has not seen before.”
