IOPSA held its annual awards ceremony on 18 September 2024.
© Plumbing Africa
The annual IOPSA Plumbing Industry Awards were held at the Royal Elephant Hotel on 18 September 2024. Members of the plumbing industry donned their finery and attended the event to celebrate those who have made a difference in the industry.
Among those honoured was Veronica Ntho, a recent graduate of the Nedbank 360 Program, who won Apprentice of the Year. “I was just graduating and now I am here,” she said on winning her award, “It’s been amazing.”
Other winners included Harscan as Importer of the Year. “As a finalist and previous winner, the award is a vote of confidence in Harscan from important players within the industry and recognition for all the efforts that the whole team has put into making Harscan excel,” said Malcolm Harris of Harscan, “It is difficult as a small business to gauge where we are in the market and a nomination is an honour and acknowledgement of the efforts. We can only measure ourselves within by raw data and this nomination tells us about the way industry feels about us. It acts as an incentive to the company to try and be better and delight our customers.”
Builders Warehouse took Retailer of the Year. Say Mannie David, National Category Specialist Manager from Builders, “This award affirms for Builders that we are now a reputable and recognised plumbing retailer that is able to service the DIY plumber, but more importantly the trade and maintenance plumber. Being a winner tonight is a culmination of many years of hard work; determination and executing a clear market strategy. We will continue to invest in our value proposition to our plumbing customers. A big thank you to IOPSA for the recognition and partnership.”
Advanced Valves took Local Manufacturer of the Year for a second year in a row. Richard Wiederhold, owner of the business, said, “Winning this award for the second-year running is the biggest honour, and testament to our consistent hard work and commitment to continual improvement over the past year. I’d like to dedicate this award to my passionate staff. It’s their reward for years of continual development and improvement in our endeavour to be best in our game. Thank you IOPSA and members for recognising this!”
Winners:
- Region of the Year – Southern Cape
- Plumbing Company of the Year – AB Plumbing (KZN)
- Retailer of the Year – Builders Warehouse
- Importer of the Year – Harscan
- Industry Lady of the Year – Cindy Snyman
- President’s Award – Chris and Courtney Coetzee from OHSS Consulting
- Apprentice of the Year – Veronica Ntho
- Manufacturer of the Year – Advanced Valves
- Education Provider of the Year – KZN Plumbing Academy
