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BB/MTA Awards a great success at PSP SBS

28 Sep 2010

BB Lifetime Achievement Award winner R J ‘Bob’ Richardson built the Richardson Group into the largest hire boat and holiday company on the Broads

Every year the Marine Trades Association (MTA) and Boating Business get together to present a range of awards. This year we all went to La Margherita, just outside the show, for a great awards ceremony and a great meal.

INDUSTRY AWARDS: This year The Marine Trades Association (MTA) and Boating Business went to La Margherita, the nightspot just outside the show, for our joint awards presentations.

The evening started with a roundly applauded presentation to Sandy Phillips for her long and dedicated service to the MTA.

This was followed by the BB/MTA Environment Award, which had the largest number of nominations this year. The judging panel eventually made the award to Henri Lloyd for its Blue Eco range and the company’s ongoing efforts and future commitments to improving its operations through its new company environmental policy.

Next up was the MTA Retailer of the Year Award, which went to Quba Sails for showing the industry how to retail. They manufacture in the UK - not an easy option today. They recycle used materials - a fashionable idea but not easy to carry out - and they have a growing a range of niche retail stores. Quba also buys up all the used sailcloth in the country…

The BB/MTA Website Award went to Barton Marine for its new website, launched in August this year. The new site is a significant development over the previous site and indicates the company’s clear understanding of where its web strategy is headed, with its easy to use, clear and simple navigation.

The MTA Personality of the Year went to Cooney Marine’s Andy Sims for his work on behalf of the entire industry through his contribution to the BMF and for devising and pushing through the (BB sponsored) Marine Manufacturing Showcase that enables small companies to exhibit at major boat shows.

Finally, the Boating Business Lifetime Achievement Award went to the 87 year old R J 'Bob' Richardson of the Richardson Group. He started the company over 50 years ago and built it into the largest hire cruiser and holiday company on the Broads. And he still goes into the Stalham base every day.

The Young Businessperson and Young Entrepreneur awards were not presented because of a lack of nominations – the only nomination we did get arrived too late. So if there are any under 40s out there who have made a difference, either as an employee or as the person who had the idea and set up the company, please let us know – we’ll be happy to make the awards at next January’s ExCeL boat show. Email pnash@boatingbusdiness.com with your nominations asap.

By the way, La Margherita was a great venue for the occasion, giving us a great meal in great surroundings. And the staff and management couldn’t do enough for us. Excellent.