BIGGER, BETTER AND ON AN UPWARD TRAJECTORY

The AFI’s Second National Awards Ceremony

The stunning Welsh capital city of Cardiff was the location chosen for this year’s AFI UK Fencing Awards ceremony held in October. This was the second annual gathering to present awards for excellence and achievements to those involved in the world of fencing by the Association of Fencing Industries. The first was held successfully last October at the prestigious Twickenham Stadium, Official Home of England Rugby. This year it was no less impressive as the venue was the glittering Principality Stadium, the home of Wales national rugby union and Wales national football team games.

A brief reminder may be needed here for anyone who isn’t fully aware of the important work that the AFI carries out. Their aim is to represent its members from across the fencing industry in the UK by promoting safety, quality and professionalism. They do this by ensuring members are kept up to date with relevant technical information, new business opportunities and industry-wide news. They require members to adhere to a Code of Practice and have rigorous rules and strict standards that mean membership isn’t just a given. High on the agenda is the important work they do to represent members’ interests with bodies like the British Standards Institute on B/201 (fencing Standards) committee, National Highways, FISS/CSCS, CHAS, Build UK, to mention just a few.

The format of the Awards day followed last year’s successful plan with guests gathering at the stadium for 10.00am for refreshments and a chance to catch up and network with other AFI members, fellow Award nominees and members of the AFI Management Team prior to tours of the stadium, after which there would be lunch, followed by the all important Awards ceremony.

Chairman Chris Hackett was on hand to chat over how the last year has gone. “We’ve had a very positive year at AFI with many improvements
happening and more to look forward to going forward. One of our most ambitious plans for expansion has come to fruition in 2023, that’s the AFI becoming a major stakeholder in Fencex. The exhibition has been going for the last 20 years and has become a mainstay of the Fencing industry, being held every two years at Stoneleigh. This is something we’ve had on the horizon as we look at building recognition for the organisation and its members. AFI executives will be taking over the running of Fencex in the future. This year we’ve also seen an important collaboration for the AFI with the Wood Protection Association, another major industry body, and today we are hosting our second annual awards ceremony, which once again gives us the opportunity to showcase the high level of skill and excellence in our industry. Interestingly 80% of the attendees this year are different to last year, which means we have lots of new young blood coming through.”

After an enjoyable Welsh themed lunch Pete Clark, AFI CEO took some time to thank the sponsors for their invaluable support of the event, without which it would be impossible to hold. He also thanked all the entrants for their time and effort for submitting their projects for judging in the awards saying, “The finalists have shown skill, ingenuity, talent and commitment to the industry that highlights the great achievements within the diverse sector that is fencing. Every person in the UK is impacted by the fencing industry and I feel it is the AFI’s role to raise the profile of individuals and companies to the wider construction industry and throw off the ill-conceived perceptions that anyone can ‘throw up fences’. We are one of the highest skilled sectors in construction, which is reflected in the awards.”

The Welsh rugby theme continued with an entertaining and energetic after lunch speech from former rugby union player Andy Powell, who had a long and distinguished career for the Wales team, Barbarians, the British and Irish Lions to name just a few highlights of his time in the sport. He did a great job of getting everyone into a jovial mood, with some very amusing and slightly risky tales of pranks and post match high spirits, before assisting in the important business of the day, helping Chairman, Chris Hackett to present the awards to the winners.

There were ten awards categories this year, up on the six last year and the ‘new young blood’ promised by the chairman earlier was in evidence, along with some of the better known names. The actual award categories have evolved somewhat from last year. Previously they were divided into Contractor of the Year with turnover values of: up to £750k, £750k to £1.5m, £1.5m to £3m and £3m+.

This year, each of the contractors entered their best project from the last 12 months, that highlighted their work and skills in a specific area of the fencing industry, be that agricultural, domestic, industrial etc. (see the full breakdown of the eight Contractor of the Year categories listed below). This undoubtedly is an improvement and allows the contractor to be judged against those working in the same sector. Well done to the AFI management team for listening to feedback and responding.

Along with the revamped categories the popular award for overall winning Project of the Year remained and also the Lifetime Contribution award, which was awarded to someone who is well known and respected by many in the fencing world, Steve Bailes. Steve has worked in the industry for over 40 years, having been involved with many companies and has touched almost every aspect of fencing. His significant achievements are numerous, including working on BS1722 Part 14 and Part 17 of the standards committee, working on the early stages of engagement with the LPC ratings which are now an industry standard for security fences, and with CPNI in the development of the Super6 Weldmesh panel, now widely used to protect many Critical National infrastructure sites. Steve gave a well-received thank you speech that held everyone’s attention and mentioned someone who was hugely influential to his career and thanked his mentor of many years, John Carter, ‘the father of security fencing’. Congratulations to Steve for an incredible 40 years commitment to fencing.

Indeed, congratulations to all the winners, not mention many thanks and well done to the members of the AFI management team, who once again put together an enjoyable and highly successful awards ceremony event.

For more information on the AFI or becoming a member go to: afiorg.uk