Covering PPE, Workwear and Corporate Clothing, this year's Business Manager Awards also included, for the first time, three Innovation awards.
The awards, presented on the night by designer Jeff Banks, were held alongside the Workwear & Corporate Clothing Show held earlier this month at Coventry's Ricoh Arena. Both awards reflect the major impact which the Integrated Clothing Project has had on the development of PPE for the emergency services.
In winning the PPE award, Mike Thomas demonstrated his commitment to the ICP, and its benefits to fire and rescue services, when Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue Service became the first in the country to procure and take delivery of the new national identity head-to-toe protective clothing for his 750 firefighters.
After receiving his award, Mike Thomas said: "I was surprised to be nominated by Bristol Uniforms for the award. I have been a strong advocate of the business benefits that the ICP project brought not least confirming a national identity for the service. I am proud to accept the award on behalf of everyone who worked on the project, but also for Lincolnshire for being the first to take the products that continue to protect the lives of my firefighters to a high standard, complemented by a professional image for all my staff."
Steve Taylor, one of the central figures in steering through the ICP for Firebuy during the four year development phase of the project between 2004 and 2008, saw his contribution recognised by the judging panel when he took the runner up prize for innovation, a new category introduced to 'recognise the people who have brought innovation to their uniform whether through style, design, functionality or an improvement in the development process.'
| Mike Thomas was singled out for showing ICP project's benefits to the fire industry |
After the awards were announced, Bristol's joint MD Ian Mitchell commented: "The Integrated Clothing Project, for which Bristol designed and developed the award winning clothing range covering everything from PPE to workwear and corporate clothing, has clearly demonstrated a successful new model for achieving better design, personal protection and value for the fire and rescue service. As a leading designer and manufacturer of PPE, the company was keen to support both these key individuals whose leadership has made a major contribution to the long term success of this procurement process. We are delighted that each has been recognised in such a public way through the awards they have won."
He added: "The term 'integrated' is illustrative of the comprehensive nature of the ICP which not only offers over 140 different garments to employees across the fire and rescue services but also flexibility in the choice of managed services which provide for the long term care and maintenance of the PPE to extend service life and reduce waste."
Roger Startin, Bristol's joint MD responsible for the company's worldwide commercial activities commented: "We hope that this independent recognition of the contribution the ICP has made to the efficiency of procurement in the fire and rescue service will further encourage other emergency services to take a more serious look at how the model could be incorporated into their own procurement processes and practices as a means of acquiring best value innovative PPE for the future."