The British Marine Trades Association presented their annual awards, showcasing the best of the UK marine industry, at a sell-out gala dinner on Tuesday 10th January 2017. The prestigious Lifetime Achievement award was given to Gary Sutcliffe of Lee Sanitation, the leading supplier of marine sanitation equipment and marina pump out systems. Gary, who played an active part in British Marine, retired in 2016 having been Operations Director at Lee Sanitation for over 17 years.
Leading distributor of marine and industrial equipment, Aquafax, won the Business of the Year Award, with its support of British Marine Boat Shows and the industry as a whole, being particularly noted.
Peter Gordon from Rockley picked up the 2017 Marine Personality Award. The award is voted for by members and Peter has been repeatedly nominated. Owner and Financial Director, Peter has been with Rockley since he was 13. As well as being an RYA Coach Assessor and RYA Powerboat Instructor, he races a Laser and claims to be ‘quite noisy around the course’; Peter is a worthy winner of British Marine Trades Association Personality of the Year.
Land Rover BAR received the Boating Business Environment Award. The sports team’s commitment to sustainability is clearly spelt out, ‘We are committed to becoming the most sustainable sports team we can be’. As well as supporting the campaign to say no to single use plastics, at their Portsmouth base they have installed oyster beds and bee hotels, with the aim of inspiring others to drive sustainability forward. Boating Business also awarded the Boating Business Website Award, which went to ASAP Supplies Ltd (http://www.asap-supplies.com/).
The future of the marine industry was celebrated with awards for Young Entrepreneur of the Year and the Scott Deverell Young Businessperson of the Year Award. Alastair Clayton, Managing Director of Seaglaze, won the Young Entrepreneur Award. Alastair has grown the company setting up a new division, Specialist Toughened Glass, in 2014 and bringing production back to the UK. The Scott Deverell Young Businessperson of the Year Award was presented to Oliver Lanza, Director of Timage, who joined his brother Marcus in the family firm in 2012.
The British Marine Trades Association Chairman’s Special Award, chosen by Association Chairman, Paul Martin, went to Peter Wallbank of August Race. August Race specialises in innovative cleaning and maintenance materials. The August Race range includes the Boat Bomb, a highly effective automatic cabin treatment to help prevent mould and to leave the air smelling pleasant, which has just been awarded a trademark.
The second British Marine David Coleman Excellence in Exporting Award, which was established in memory of David Coleman, who transformed Barton Marine into a global brand, was awarded to Fendequip. Fendequip is the world’s number one manufacturer of fender covers, inflatable yacht fenders and other mooring related products. It prides itself that its products, which are distributed to 15 countries worldwide, are 100% British made.
British Marine Leisure Boating, a group association of British Marine, presented the British Marine Leisure Boating Customer Service Award 2017 to Nisos Yacht Charter. The company’s 70% year on year repeat booking rate illustrates the high level of customer care that they offer. Nisos Yacht Charter is rated ‘Excellent’ by TripAdvisor and can also boast a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence, given to companies that consistently earn great reviews from travellers.
The British Marine Trade Association Awards are sponsored by Boating Business, Boatshed.com, Matchtech, Aquafax, PSP Worldwide Logistics, Ocean Safety and A-Plan.
British Marine Trades Association Chairman, Paul Martin, commented: “These awards are one of the few times that our sector of the industry can acknowledge achievements and milestones, and recognise the individuals that have excelled and contributed within the Marine Industry, for the benefit of all. We are delighted to have so much to celebrate.”
Winner of last year’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Peter Nash, spoke at the dinner to thank the industry for all coming together and congratulated the winners. He was given a standing ovation.
Nominations for next year’s awards will open in autumn 2017, details of the nomination procedure will appear in the BMTA newsletter.
