It was high excitement when the inaugural British Pest Management Awards were presented during the gala dinner held at the East Wintergardens at Canary Wharf, London on 22 March 2017 the middle night of PestEx 2017.
The shortlist of those in the running for each of the five categories had been made public before the night, but who was going to scoop the trophies themselves?
Introducing the awards in his opening address at the gala dinner, British Pest Control Association’s president, Paul Rodman explained: “The British Pest Management Awards provide a unique opportunity to celebrate standout excellence. Never before have we come together as a sector to recognise the achievements and professionalism of the pest management community in this way.
“An independent panel of judges, representative of the key stakeholders in the industry, have combed through the nominations, and tonight we celebrate their outstanding contributions to public health pest management as a whole,” concluded Paul.
BPCA is to be congratulated as the judging panel was drawn from a cross-section of the industry. Chaired by Kevin Higgins (BPCA) it included Clive Boase (the Pest Management Consultancy), Dave Oldbury (Pest Management Alliance), Steve Hallam (NPTA) and your very own editor of Pest publications, Frances McKim.
And the awards went to……..
| Charles Keeble award presented for outstanding commitment and performance in training & development Winner: Chris Davis, Cleankill
Chris has worked for Clenkill for 10 years and trains Cleankill’s technicians while coaching and mentoring colleagues through their professional qualifications. |
Technician of the year awarded for outstanding performance as a pest management professional
Winner: Ian Dudley, Ecolab
As Mark Williams, the head of Ecolab’s technical group explains: “Ian is devoted to his customers, to the extent he looks after their overseas facilities too. In recent months he has been to Germany, Belgium and the Crimea.” |
Chris Davis, above left receives his award from Clive Boase, said “I’m very proud to have received this national recognition from the pest control industry and to be chosen out of all my peers was a real surprise and an honour.”
For the last 20 years Ian Dudley has worked for Ecolab and is now a senior service specialist concentrating on customers in the food industry.| Unsung hero award presented for outstanding support to the pest management industry Winner: Dr Alan Buckle, CRRU
“I was totally surprised to be nominated for this award and to win it is quite amazing. To be recognised as a ‘Unsung hero’ for my work as chairman of the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use is certainly flattering, but the success we have achieved would not have been possible without the support of the other CRRU members,” exclaimed Alan. |
Small company of the year presented for outstanding pest management service Winner: The Bristol Pest Controller
Giles said “We were so pleased to see a small company like ours being recognised for our hard work and contribution to the pest control industry. The whole team has been bursting with pride and continues to drive our passion. We want to thank all our lovely customers for their exceptional reviews – I’m sure they helped us win this award.” |
Roger Simpson (left) from event sponsor Lodi-UK
Frances McKim (left) with owner of Bristol Pest Controller, Giles Sharley (centre) with Laura Nangreave| Company of the year presented for outstanding pest management service Winner: Beaver Pest Control from Tooting, London
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Founded 27 years ago originally by Graham Lodge, brother David soon joined the fledgling business which, to this day, is still based in Tooting, London.
“We are absolutely thrilled to have been given this award. To be recognised for excellence by our peers within the industry means a great deal to us. Beaver is a family business and we pride ourselves on the commitment given by our staff which reflects in the care and service we give to our customers. “Our strap-line is currently ‘Innovative pest management’ but for years it used to be ‘Quality service from quality people’ and we believe that all of the credit should go to our staff for upholding this important company principle,” said enthused David. |
Very proud ‘Beavers’. Left to right: Rafal Brymer, Julia Pitman,Special highly commended awards for companies offering outstanding pest management service were presented to two companies..
| Rokill from Ringwood in Hampshire
Alec McQuin, Rokill managing director, said: “In this inaugural year of the awards, we are all extremely pleased to have been awarded a highly commended in the Company of the Year category. At Rokill quality service for all our customers, is a fundamental part of our business and I would like to thank all our staff who ensure this is the case day after day. We will be applying again next year!” |
Cleankill from Croydon, Surrey
Managing director Paul Bates said: “It’s fantastic to be recognised by professionals in your industry and to be Highly Commended in a national award against stiff competition. The judges praised us for our quality of service, training and the professionalism of our staff. Congratulations to the winners Beaver Pest Control who share similar values and ethos to us.” |
Details will be released soon by BPCA for the 2018 British Pest Management Awards. Get ready…