Nine nominations, three runner-up spots and one overall victory at the National Fenestration Awards rounds out another a highly decorated year of recognition for the North East-based glazing systems manufacturer.
Topping off a barrage of nominations and awards in recent years, Made For Trade was thrilled to conclude 2022 not only with a trio of runner-up recognitions, but also an overall category win at the highly-regarded National Fenestration Awards last month; one that truly recognises the present-day manufacturing prowess of the Wynyard business. First conceived in 2013, the NFAs are the industry’s fastest-growing awards, and they come with one aim: to be the fairest and most inclusive of all fenestration events; rewarding the very best in the glazing sector.
As the first ‘open platform’ awards, what makes this celebration of fenestration unique is that the NFAs aim to recognise all areas of the industry by inviting everyone to not only nominate, but also cast votes themselves for businesses and individuals that they believe deserve recognition. Contrary to usual practice, there are no judges or panels; all nominations are whittled down to shortlists and the final list of winners is decided by votes from those very same industry personnel – without a doubt the most rewarding way to be recognised, for any company.
Of course, whilst the main aim of the National Fenestration Awards is to encourage as much of the sector as possible to take part in a democratic, transparent event that honestly rewards the best in the industry, it is also refreshing in its approach; aiming to make it an enjoyable day out to remember alongside.
Taking place once again with a fun-filled day at Doncaster Racecourse in November, the 2022 event proved as entertaining and eventful as ever, where – following on from a joint category win in 2021 for the new Korniche Bi-Folding Door – this year Made For Trade was thrilled to be shortlisted for a huge tally of nine categories. The remarkable achievement gave a nod to everything from the team’s product innovation to in-house manufacturing capability at the expansive Northeast site, plus business, sales and marketing to highlight the progress and growth of this ever-expanding family enterprise.
With nearly 30,000 votes cast across the 33 categories, the nine awards shortlists to keep MFT event attendees Ashley Gaunt (Technical Director), David Jones (Finance Director) and Chris Caley (Sales Executive) on the edge of their seats throughout the day included Aluminium Fabricator of the Year, Fabricator/Manufacturer of the Year, as well as Bi-Folding Door Manufacturer of the Year to recognise the strides made with the game-changing new Korniche products.
Further nominations were for Door Component of the Year and New Product 2022 (both for the revolutionary Korniche Bi-Fold clip-in ‘Speedbead’), whilst Conservatory Product and Conservatory Fabricator categories recognised the engineering breakthrough and unparalleled sales success of the Korniche Lantern Roof. Away from the shop floor, the final nominations were for Digital Marketing Campaign of the Year for the Korniche Roof Lantern, as well as a Business Development Manager / Sales Executive of the Year nomination for Chris Caley.
As the proceedings took place across the day, the runner-up spots recognised for Made For Trade were Bi-folding Door Manufacturer, Fabricator/Manufacturer and Door Component for the ‘Speedbead’, but the pinnacle of recognition at the event was MFT taking home the trophy for the Aluminium Fabricator of the Year Award.
In what has been a demanding 2022 across the whole industry as the country deals with numerous issues, Made For Trade remained as a force to be reckoned with in fenestration, continuing to develop new products, grow market share and invest heavily in both factory hardware and office software. The nominations and latest award win judged by those working within the industry further cement the progress of Korniche towards becoming a desirable brand name held in high regard to both trade partners and consumers alike, yet also recognise the increase in sales as an ever-expanding list of businesses choose to supply and install the multi-award-winning Lantern and Bi-folding Door.
Of all the awards for which MFT was shortlisted, being voted by industry peers as the NFA’s Aluminium Fabricator of the Year was one of the most satisfying and ultimately humbling to-date; summing up everything that the company has been striving to achieve by taking next-level, motorsport-derived precision manufacturing experience to fenestration. As the culmination of years of development work and bolstered by game-changing attributes such as MFT’s enviable new ISO9001 quality certification; the award highlights everything Made for Trade is pursuing with the Korniche product line, where engineering continues to underpin the quality and investment in offering the best products with the best service at the best price.
Speaking of the success, MFT Technical Director Ashley Gaunt said: “The NFAs are always a fun and enjoyable event, not to mention being judged in a more visible way to convention. Being shortlisted for so many awards was an honour as were the runner-up spots, but we are all delighted to receive the win for Aluminium Fabricator of the Year, especially knowing it is an achievement that has been recognised and voted from within.”
