Marking the conclusion of its Annual Members’ Conference, the BMF Awards Dinner celebrated the achievements of some of the rising stars in the industry, from young people embarking on apprenticeships to those now taking on more senior roles.
Young Merchant Achiever 2024: Keir Smith, Sales, Keith Builders Merchants
Six years ago, Keir took a temporary yard role at Keith Builders Merchants. Today he is one of its strongest salespeople. Commercially aware, with effective communication and active listening skills, Keir has the ability to inspire and motivate others and to recognise and realise opportunities for new business.
One such opportunity, in agricultural roofing, generated sales of almost £140K — 90% of the annual sales forecast — in just four months. Keir has developed such strong relationships with local contractors, the company now expects to exceed its original sales forecast by 175%.
Runner Up: Chimene Codner, Marketing, City Plumbing
Chimene’s ‘above and beyond’ attitude is woven into her DNA and embodies every aspect of her work. An integral member of the marketing team, she empowers colleagues, drives efficiency and champions diversity and inclusion.
She has improved processes, implemented new procedures and ensured all cross functional teams meet deadlines, greatly enhancing efficiency and effectiveness. Chimene has also been a driving force in promoting diversity, initiating a Race at Work network, which has inspired colleagues to engage and contribute to creating a more inclusive culture.
Bronze Award: Stephanie Higgs, Group Category Manager, Stark Building Materials UK
Steph has excelled during her nine years in the industry with Jewson and Stark Group. As one of the most supportive and collaborative colleagues within the team, Steph demonstrates an outstanding attitude and team spirit, which gets results.
Her commercial contribution through product negotiations and the development of long-term strategic partnerships helped her team deliver cost-savings in excess of £9.8m over the past four years, the highest contribution by any team.
Young Supplier Achiever 2024: Kathryn Douglas, Senior Digital Marketing Executive, Kilwaughter Minerals
Since joining the company in 2020 as a website executive, Kathryn has transformed the company’s digital offering across all brands, particularly K Rend and K Systems. She played a vital role in improving user experience and raising the bar in terms of video content, animations and CGI while launching new three new websites.
Her creativity and attention to detail has greatly improved engagement, including a 273% increase in conversions on the K Rend website, where average monthly sample requests have almost tripled.
Marketing Excellence Award 2024: Joni Beal, Marketing Manager, Alsford
Since joining Alsford in 2020 Joni has developed the marketing function, added management of the ecommerce strategy to her role, co-ordinated a business-wide rebrand, and educated colleagues on the importance of brand identity. Her work has contributed significantly to the company’s renewed confidence in their brand and how this is communicated to customers and industry.
Other individual award winners on the night included:
BMF Apprentice of the Year: Jordan Payne, Lawsons (Whetstone)
Best Performing Online Student – BMF Building Blocks: George Longworth, Peppard Building Supplies
Best Performing Student – BMF Diploma in Merchant Management: Ben Weighill, Challenge Fencing
BMF Training Company of the Year 2024
At its Annual Awards Dinner, the Builders Merchants Federation also announced the winner of this year’s BMF Training Company of the Year 2024.
Nominated by BMF Regional Managers, who work closely with members in their area to satisfy training and other service requirements, the six shortlisted companies were selected for their commitment to supporting and developing their teams through their use of BMF training.
Securing the prestigious title was LBS Builders Merchants, with the business taking a proactive approach to learning and development, supporting staff at each stage of their career. It uses the BMF Campus online platform to offer its staff a wider variety of online learning, with over 170 active learners having approved individual learning plans on this system.
LBS also utilises the BMF Diploma/Certificate in Merchant Management programmes and the ISME accredited BMF Essential Sales Management course as well as short classroom-based programmes including the BMF Yard Supervisors Toolkit.
And congratulations to the gallant nominees: Haldane Fisher, Harlow Timber Group, Howarth Timber and Builders Merchants, IBMG and MGM Timber.
