YCF – the not-for-profit organisation committed to supporting the manufacturing industry and its supply chain – has held its first people awards dinner.

Celebrating the successes of people within the processing industries, the awards set out to acknowledge nine individuals that go above and beyond in their roles to drive industry change, personal development and the growth of their companies.

The finalists and 160 attendees were treated to an evening of celebrations, from champagne on arrival, to a welcome from YCF CEO Jill Mooney and main sponsor James Soden, director of E3 Recruitment. The awards were then presented to the industry’s finest talent and a 3-course meal was served.

Commenting on the evening, Jill said: The awards acted as great recognition for individuals that work hard within the industries that we support.

But with so many companies in attendance, it was also a great opportunity for people to network and build relationships. And that’s what we’re all about as an organisation! We’re here to support businesses, share best practice and overcome common challenges, whilst creating connections between our members.

And the celebrations didn’t end there! Guests were invited to pop a balloon for £10, in aid of children’s cancer charity Candlelighters Trust. Inside was money that could be used for the casino games – from roulette to blackjack – for the chance to win a raffle prize. The top gambler even won a two night stay at the Cavendish Arms in Cartmel.

Nominees were put forward by their peers, colleagues and mentors, and the winners were decided by the YCF board.

Explaining why they chose to award people rather than organisations, Lisa Buck, YCF’s operations manager said: We felt that our industries were saturated with company awards, so we decided to honour the people behind the brands – those who do the all-important work and make things happen on a day-to-day basis.

The award categories included ‘Outstanding Manager’, which was sponsored by E3 Recruitment and won by Lewis Copeland of Projex Solutions, ‘Best Skills Project’, sponsored by Siemens UK and attained by Mark Davies of Nufarm Ltd, and ‘Best Customer Service Team’, sponsored by Vickers Laboratories and claimed by Adrian Heseltine of Dr Reddys Laboratories.

Over 160 people attended the event on Wednesday 19^th October, which took place at The Cedar Court Hotel in Bradford.

James Soden of E3 Recruitment said: YCF is a great organisation which shares new developments and information within the industry, and acts as a voice for many companies, that otherwise wouldn’t have one.

So we were extremely proud to sponsor the dinner and continue our on-going relationship with them. We’re already looking forward to next year!

The dinner marked the organisation’s final event of the year as it plans for an even bigger 2017 – with aspirations to develop a skills hub and establish a new cluster for the personal care and cosmetics industries.

YCF was originally established in 2004 as ‘Yorkshire Chemical Focus’, with the intention of sharing best practice and knowledge with the region’s chemical companies. But in 2011 the membership organisation was re-branded to become ‘Your Connected Future’, broadening its membership base to support companies within the manufacturing industry and its supply chain, throughout the UK.

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