Door hardware professionals celebrated at IAI awards

The best and brightest within the door hardware industry were celebrated at the annual Institute of Architectural Ironmongers (IAI) awards ceremony on 7 March, at the Hallmark Hotel in Gloucester.

The IAI Fellowship Award is given to an individual who has shown a longstanding and ongoing commitment to the IAI over at least a decade. This year’s winner was Kevin O’Reilly, technical director of Securefast.

Kevin has impressed fellow institute members through his many years of help and support, which include attending all IAI Midlands branch meetings, writing CPD presentations and volunteering for the GAI Education Committee.

The Paul Lewis Award for Customer Service goes to an individual, group or company that has made an outstanding commitment to customer services throughout the year.

Phoenix Sales (RJ) Ltd was the recipient of the award after being nominated for its focus on providing a ‘first-class service’ to its customer base.

Phoenix Sales staff attend site visits, as well as meetings with architects and clients, to guarantee they fully understand the specification required and the end users’ needs.

The GAI Award for Services to the Institute is awarded to a current IAI member who has made a recent and visible contribution at branch level.

This year’s winner was Chris Colley, technical director at Monaghan Planck. Chris has been a part of the IAI for almost 30 years, after he completed his diploma in 1990.

He was an active member of the South West branch during this time before becoming national chair in 1998. In 2002 he joined the North West branch and also chaired the regional branch from 2010-2012.

The Promising Ironmonger of the Year award, given to the brightest ironmongers in the early stages of their careers, went to Rav Jagdev, sales director at Phoenix Sales (RJ) Ltd.

Rav’s nomination was down to his customer focused approach to service and dedication to his own professional development. He is currently working towards RegAI status after recently completing his GAI diploma.

Deborah Cannon, chair of the IAI, commented: “The awards offer a great opportunity to celebrate the wealth of talent and commitment that is prevalent in this sector. It’s important that we recognise not only our dedicated industry professionals, but also the promising newcomers within the industry, and continue to support them throughout their career.”

The awards were given at a dinner following the Institute’s AGM, an event that also included networking and CPD opportunities for Institute members.

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