Wow. Both myself and @AlumTradeSupply are very happy and have been overwhelmed with the support and interest shown in the National Fenestration Awards so far! So from the bottom of our hearts we would like to thank all of you who have registered to take part, nominated, sponsoring and just wishing us well in our endeavors to create something the whole industry will embrace and take part in!

So far, the interest and participation in the awards has been great. And we have also received the backing of two great names in our industry, Ultraframe and Solidor. They are both very well respected and are both a credit to our industry. The feedback which has been most satisfying has been from those that have said how nice it is to see other areas of our vast industry being represented, such as timber, aluminium, steel and the magazines. In creating our awards, we wanted to try and provide equal coverage for ALL areas of our industry, something which other awards events and similar schemes have failed to do in the past.

Some will ask why bother doing this. To that, we say why not! There is a clear gap in our industry for an awards which are actually chosen by the industry, and which recognizes the hard work done by the many other sectors other than just the PVC sector. Yes this is a new venture, but those who have their own business or have started their own business will know that a business has to start from somewhere, so this is it! There is plenty of work ahead of us, but both myself and Nick are very motivated to making sure that this becomes something the industry will get involved in all year round!

This is the first year of the National Fenestration Awards. But whilst nothing is perfect first time around, this is NOT going to be a trial run. We intend this year to be a full run for the awards. Yes it won’t be the biggest version of these awards, as I have already mentioned, we are new and things take a little time to take off and grow. But we will use the positivity and feedback to improve the NFA’s for 2014 and create an even bigger event with hopefully a nice bash for you all to go to at the end of the year!

In terms of the awards themselves, yes there WILL be a physical award to be won. We are working on the design at the moment but it is going to be a very swish mix of 3D glass and brushed metal so watch this space, as soon as we have a design, we will post pictures for you all to see! But not only that, there will be marketing a promotion for the winners as well. The NFA’s offer a full package that companies will want to take advantage of. It will help boost their presence both online and in print, as well as help brand recognition and all being well help boost business too!

So far, there are three categories that are live and ready to accept your nominations. Just to make you aware, right now, this is stage one. Nominations are being put forward to create a shortlist for that particular award. You’re not picking a winner just yet! But to make sure your person/company makes the shortlist, you need to get behind them and encourage others to get involved as well!

I will be doing a post tomorrow which will answer some of the most frequently asked questions about the awards. So if there is anything you’re not sure about, make sure you read tomorrows post!

As with anything new, we need your help and involvement to make sure this is a success! The response so far has been great, but we want to make sure it’s as successful as possible. So please take just a minute to register to take part and have your say in the industry’s first open platform awards!

DGB