Enthusiasm was high among the industry, particularly due to the presence of a number of new categories launched for the 2018 edition, as noted by HVR editor Heather Ramsden in the evening’s opening speech: “We are always delighted to see the entries start rolling in but this year, even our expectations were surpassed. I am so pleased so many of you have jumped at the chance to throw your hat in the ring.”
After guests were treated to dinner and entertainment from the evening’s host, award-winning comedian Tom Ward, the presentation began with the night’s first accolade: Commercial Air Conditioning Product of the Year (AC Systems).
With a wave of innovative products being launched in response to changing legislation and regulation, this year’s product categories were more hotly-contested than ever resulting in not one but two highly commended accolades in this category; LG Electronics’ LG Multi VM VRF system and Panasonic Heating & Cooling’s Panasonic nanoe X. The top spot in this category was awarded to Armstrong Fluid Technology’s Design Envelope Tango Variable Speed Intelligent Pumps, which wowed the judging panel for saving cost and space and allowing more efficient operation.
The Commercial Air Conditioning Product of the Year (Chillers & Heat Pumps) category was also a hard-fought category, with yet again two companies being praised as highly-commended; Klima-Therm for the Hybrid Adiabatic Cooler (DMR-H) and Aermec UK for the WMG Water Cooled Chiller. The coveted ‘flame’ trophy was awarded to CoolTherm Group for the Circlemiser, which the judges praised as ‘a revolutionary development of air-side heat rejection technology’.
The Commercial/Industrial Ventilation Product of the Year category followed, with Breathing Buildings picking up the accolade for NVHR – which stood out in a high-quality category for its technical features, ability to tackle energy efficiency and environmental issues and to provide excellent indoor air quality in schools and other facilities.
The fourth award on the night was for the Commercial/Industrial Heating Product of the Year. Panasonic Heating & Cooling’s Hybrid VRF came out on top, with the judges praising the product for ‘bringing together two established low carbon products with a controls package that increases performance and efficiency over the whole system.’
The Sustainable Product of the Year award was presented to Viessmann for the Vitovalor 300-P, a product which stood out to the judging panel for its use of fuel cell technology inside a domestic boiler to reduce energy consumption and generate electricity.
The final ‘product’ award of the evening was the new Ancillary Product of the Year, which was awarded to Hevasure for the Hevasure – G2. The judging panel commented: “This product is important because poor water treatment is a big problem to heating system performance and longevity. By bringing together all the test equipment, facility managers will have the benefit of constant monitoring of the system condition.”
Next up was another of the new categories for 2019; HVAC Initiative of the Year. This inaugural winner in this highly-contested category was Swiftclean Building Services for its Fire damper awareness initiative, which showed “commitment to ensuring the market is aware of the vital need for fire damper testing to the correct standard”.
Training Initiative of the Year, a category in which the winner was decided by an online industry vote, saw Baxi Heating take home the accolade for the Baxi Heating Commercial Training Academy.
As well as recognising products and companies, the HVR Awards provides a platform to recognise individual efforts from across the sector. CoolTherm Group picked up their second award of the evening, with employee Justin Fisher being awarded the Customer Service Person of the Year honour.
Next to be presented was the new Community Spirit Award, a unique accolade that recognises efforts companies make for the greater good, extending far beyond day-to-day roles. The first recipient of this award was BSS for its partnership with Mind.
The Wholesaler/Distributor of the Year award returned for its second year, with Smith Brothers Stores taking home the coveted accolade. This was followed by Contractor of the Year, another hotly-contested category, which saw Sale Group be honoured as highly commended before A1 Flue Systems was revealed to be the winner for ‘pushing the boundaries in a niche industry’.
The final accolade of the ceremony was the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented to ‘natural born teacher’ Peter Reid.
In addition to presenting awards to the heating and ventilating industry, the HVR Awards ceremony always provides an opportunity for those in attendance to give a little back. The organisers of the scheme opted to donate this year’s fundraising proceeds to the charity supported by BSS, the recipient of the Community Spirit Award. Guests gave generously, with the total amount to be donated to Mind, the mental health charity, to be revealed in due course.
The HVR Awards received the support of a number of industry heavyweights including headline sponsor Building Engineering Services Association (BESA), Albion Valves UK, Andrews Water Heaters, the HVAC & Refrigeration Show 2020, ICOM Energy Association, Remeha, SkillFRIDGE, Smith Brothers Stores, Stokvis, Toshiba and Wilo.
To find out more about the HVR Awards or to view the full gallery from the awards ceremony, visit www.hvrawards.co.uk.