The first ever internal awards scheme held by the Produce World Group have proved to be a great success according to the Group’s CEO William Burgess.
The awards, called The Pride of Produce World, were announced at a ceremony held at the Peterborough Marriott. Nominations were considered from the Group’s five companies in the UK, as well as its headquarters in Peterborough.
William said, “As a business we have invested a lot of time and money in developing our staff and empowering them to play a greater role in their workplaces. Our CSR programme is award-winning and encourages people to take responsibility both inside and outside the workplace. We have had a really good response to this first awards scheme and it’s great to see some excellent examples of this philosophy in action. The awards scheme has allowed us to recognise just some of the individuals who contribute to our ongoing success.”
Among the winners was the HQ-based IT department, which walked away with the coveted title of Team of the Year. This was in recognition of its work in re-locating the company’s server room. Head of IT Simon Callow said, “In a business the size of Produce World, spread across a number of sites, and with sophisticated IT supporting its operations, this was no easy task. The team worked tirelessly, often working late or coming in at weekends in order to deliver the project ahead of time. They are all delighted to receive this recognition.”
A total of four awards were made and the other three all went to staff at Produce World Marshalls, the Group’s Brassica business based at Boston in Lincolnshire. Factory Manager Richard Heppleston was awarded the title of Colleague of the Year for his work in leading the processing team. The award for Outstanding Innovation of the Year went to the Field Factory, which has been introduced to allow broccoli to be packed in the field.
Forklift truck driver Kevin Forman won the award for Community Impact. Produce World’s innovative corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme encourages staff from the company to become involved in their local communities, and Kevin is a member of the Parish Council, a Governor at the local primary school, and a fundraiser for playground facilities for local children in his village of Butterwick.
William said, “The fact that the team at Produce World Marshalls has made such an impact in the first year of our internal awards is a great credit to the management and staff at the company. We have all been working hard over the past two years to integrate the company into the business as a whole, and this performance is just one indicator of how successful we have been. I would like to add my congratulations to all the award winners.”