Industry-leading PVC-U systems supplier VEKA Group has been shortlisted in three categories at this year’s prestigious Red Rose Awards.
The Red Rose Awards are hosted by Lancashire Business View, and trophies are highly coveted by businesses throughout the North West. In the last two years, VEKA Group has been named both ‘Best Large Business’ and ‘Employer of the Year’.
This year, the business is proud to have been shortlisted in the categories of ‘In-House Training’, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ and ‘Manufacturing Business’.
VEKA Group’s Head of HR Gabriela Hammond said: “We’re thrilled to have been shortlisted in three very different categories. It shows we are a thoroughly rounded company that works equally as hard at training and helping our staff develop, as we do manufacturing our industry-leading products, and supporting people and causes in the local community.
“Our entry for ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ highlighted, among other things, our commitment to reducing energy usage across the business. The energy we saved in 2018 alone would have been enough to power 750 houses for a full year! This entry also detailed our commitment to charity fundraising and the team’s hard work turning a disused bus into a beautiful and inspiring library for a local primary school.
“The submission for the ‘Manufacturing Business’ category showcased our impressive 99.3% ‘on time in full’ performance figure and explained how VEKA Group continues to adapt to market demands to give our customers the highest quality products with minimal lead times. Ongoing investment in lamination means that we can respond faster and get profile to fabricators more quickly, which in turn gives installers a reputation for completing work on time and gives them a competitive edge with potential customers.
“We were shortlisted for ‘In-House Training’ for our proactive approach to Training and Development, that not only develops the skills and craftsmanship within our business, but also leads to some impressive savings. For example, our new BIT (Business Improvement Techniques) apprenticeship programme has led to a projected total saving for the business of over £1.76 million, and locked-in savings to date of £223,847. These savings all help us to offset the ongoing rise in energy and raw material costs, so that we don’t have to pass these on to our customers.
“We’re looking forward to the upcoming awards evening and we’d like to wish all our fellow finalists the very best of luck!”