A1 Flues named Contractor of the Year, again

For the second year running, A1 Flue Systems has been named Contractor of the Year at the prestigious Heating and Ventilation Review (HVR) Awards.

It’s the third time in five years we have won this award at the event, which is a gathering of the leaders of the heating and ventilation industry.

We picked up the award, which is another huge accolade for a business that has grown to become the UK centre of excellence in flue design and manufacture.

“The HVR Awards are one of the highpoints of our industry’s year, and to win Contractor of the Year once is a big deal – but to win it for a second year in a row is absolutely incredible,” said our Director John Hamnett.

“The fact that we’ve won it three times in the last five years is a vindication of our determination to stick to our guiding principles of excellence, pride, passion and precision. It is a reflection of the hard work of everyone who works at A1 in helping us to become market leaders in the design and manufacture of systems that aren’t just installed in the UK but also, increasingly, all over the world.”

The judges were impressed with our continued growth over the last 12 months and how we have overcome the challenges and financial losses caused by the collapse of Carillion.

We were also able to demonstrate how we’ve continued raising the bar in key areas such as manufacturing standards, training, innovation and championing women in manufacturing.

The fact that we remain the only UK company that has achieved the CE Mark for a full flue system and the only UK flue company that is Gas Safe registered highlights the standards we set for ourselves, which are above and beyond others in our industry.

The awards also reviewed the projects that we have completed. As well as working on high-profile projects, we work on a raft of ‘bread and butter’ contracts for schools, hospitals, hotels and office blocks. This year, for example, we completed work on manufacturing and fitting bespoke flue systems for two condensing gas boilers and a further two heat and power cogeneration units at a new low-carbon energy centre adjacent to the existing cluster of R&D facilities on Coventry University’s technology park.

John added: “We set high standards for ourselves and push the boundaries in the pursuit of excellence. Regardless of what everyone else in our industry does, we’ll keep on doing things our way because we know it’s the right way. And the judges at HVR clearly agree.”