By Megan O’Connor
The annual IOPSA Awards were held on 18 September 2025, at the Royal Elephant Hotel and Conference Centre in Centurion. A total of seven categories were put forward, with some surprise awards gifted on the night, and the conference saw many members of the industry gathered in celebration.
The categories, finalists, and winners are as follows:
Recognition Awards were handed out to:
- IOPSA KZN – Region of the Year
- Plumbing Africa
Industry Lady of the Year
The finalists for the Industry’s lady of the year are:
- Kuvanya – Afri Plumb
- Karmen – KZN Plumbing
- Penny – Africa Tanks
Industry lady of the year finalists: Kuvanya, Karmen and Penny. All images supplied by © Plumbing Africa
The award was won by Kuvanya Chetty from Afri Plumb.
Industry Lady of the Year 2025: Kuvanya Chetty, Afri Plumb.
Merchant of the Year
The finalists for the Plumbing merchant of the year are:
- Builders
- Plumblink
- LJR Plumbing Supplies
Finalists for the merchant of the year 2025: Builders, Plumblink and LJR Plumbing Supplies.
The award was won by Plumblink.
Merchant of the Year: Plumblink.
Manufacturer of the Year
The finalists for the Plumbing manufacturer of the year are:
- Advanced Valves
- Kwikot
- Ariston
The award was won by Advanced Valves.
Manufacturer of the Year: Advanced Valves.
Importer of the Year
The finalists for the Plumbing importer of the year are:
- Rothenberger
- Splashworks
The winner of the prestigious award is Rothenberger.
Importer of the finalists, Rothenberger and Splashworks.
The President’s Award
The dual winners of the President’s Award are:
- Patrick Gordon
- Malcolm Harris
Winners of the President’s Award: Patrick Gordon and Malcolm Harris.
The Recognition Award
The winner of the Recognition Award for 2025 is Ngcebo Sihle Mkhwanazi, from Imbokodo Plumbing Services (Pty) Ltd.
Recognition Award: Ngcebo Sihle Mkhwanazi, Imbokodo Plumbing Services.
Plumbing Company of the Year
The finalists for the Plumbing company of the year are:
- Steyn’s Plumbing
- Legend Plumbing
- NM Plumbing
The finalists for the Plumbing Company of the year: NM Plumbing, Steyn’s Plumbing, and Legend Plumbing.
The winner of the prestigious award is NM Plumbing.
Plumbing Company of the Year: NM Plumbing.
A special addition: The Stirrer Award
This year, a special award was given to none other than Plumbing Africa’s very own Rory Macnamara. The trophy – a humorously large wooden spoon – symbolises Rory’s thirty years of stirring the pot within the Plumbing Industry, and was awarded on top of the recognition award given to Rory for his dedication to the Industry through the publication.
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- Rory Macnamara was praised for his dedicated stirring within the industry throughout Plumbing Africa’s 30 years.
The Legends of Plumbing
This year, IOPSA launched a special award to honour the legendary figures in the Industry. These Legends have made a huge impact on the industry, and every single one of them has played a part in IOPSA and the Industry being where they are today.
These individuals were awarded a belt with a one-of-a-kind buckle, inscribed with their name and a serial number. They were also asked to sign their names in the IOPSA book – an immortalisation in IOPSA’s hall of fame.
Steve presenting the one-of-a-kind buckles that were awarded to the legends.
The Legends celebrated in 2025 are:
- Lee Smith
- Rudi van de Merwe
- Adriaan Myburgh
- Mahen Sewpersadh
- Chris Burgess
- Steve Brown
- Rory Macnamara
The Legends – from left to right: Rory, Lee, Rudi, Adriaan, Mahen, Chris, Steve.
For more photos of the event, please see the gallery here.
