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Winner

Balfour Kilpatrick

Judges were impressed by an excellent, all-round commercially-based submission from a contractor that delivers. Balfour Kilpatrick has seen a 32.2% increase in turnover during the last three years, a 41.4% increase in profit and turnover per employee has risen by 34%. The accident frequency rate has tumbled nearly 60% during the same period.

The company took on 150 apprentices last year and is working towards Investors in People accreditation across the group. Balfour aKilpatrick has a strong focus on customer satisfaction and uses BSRIA's KPIs to improve performance. 75% of work is repeat business.

Collaborative working, exemplified by its work for Bovis Lend Lease and also for BAA at Terminal 5, is at the heart of Balfour Kilpatrick's philosophy. At T5, 50% of the m&e services are designed for off-site fabrication.

Runners-up

Haden Young

Highly commended

Another great year for Haden Young, with dual successes of increased turnover and improved profitability. In 2005, the company reported findings of a national customer survey aimed at introducing improvements wherever possible. Haden Young has ISO 14001 and 18001 accreditation, is an Investor in People and in 2005 it integrated commercial training for surveyors into its training programme. 2005 also saw the extension of its m&e services modules manufacturing facility and knowledge sharing initiatives.

Dodd Group

Dodd Group remains a privately-owned family run business that continues to show steady growth while retaining its focus on customer satisfaction. The company boasts repeat business levels of 75%. It encourages partnering and continues to invest in training of both apprentices and current employees.

Hills Electrical & Mechanical

Hills has made major changes in the past year, abolishing the use of labour-only subcontractors. The company has also banned excessive hours – no one at Hills may work over 55 hours per week. A bonus scheme has been introduced for the delivery of projects on time and to client satisfaction.

MITIE Engineering Services

MITIE is committed to forming partnerships and continued to do so throughout 2005. Relationships have been developed with Marks and Spencer, Primark and Land Securities Trillium and further work won with Boots and NHS Lift frameworks.

MITIE seeks continually to improve its service and uses KPIs to benchmark its performance and identify key areas for development. The firm is an Investor in People and has opened a number of skills centres in partnership with schools to help provide 14-16 year olds with vocational opportunities.

Southern Electric Contracting

SEC continues to be one of the most profitable m&e contractors in the UK. It is an Investor in People and took on 104 apprentices in 2005. SEC claims an accident frequency rate just one-quarter of the industry average and 20% of business is via partnering arrangements. SEC operates a number of customer feedback mechanisms to monitor customer satisfaction.