Nominations for the 2018 ARBS Industry Awards are now open; the biennial awards are hosted alongside the ARBS Exhibition and attract entrants from across industry.
Receiving a nomination or award is a pinnacle of achievement in the industry, with finalists in the very competitive Young Achiever category from 2016 expressing how their nomination fuelled opportunity for business growth and credibility.
Leon Wurfel, managing director of BUENO, was the recipient of the 2016 Young Achiever award and today remains proud of his nomination, valuing the reputational benefits for his organisation as a consequence of winning the prestigious award.
"Being a young entrepreneur running a young business the award provided a platform of credibility for myself and for BUENO," he said.
"Being a three-year-old business at the time we had to work really hard to compete to win new business against more established companies, even if we had a far superior product."
Wurfel’s vision has seen BUENO grow to be the Australian leader in data and information driven operational property services delivering superior data related and technology driven services based on fault detection, optimisation and business intelligence that simplify their clients’ operations and enhance their effectiveness across all building sectors and building information systems.
"The young achiever award was a great thing to win to be able to leverage credibility beyond our three years in operation and helped our clients champion us throughout their respective organisations," Wurfel said.
Other finalists in the category were Ahmad Amiri, general manager of High Technology Control and Vladimir Poposki, formally an electrical engineer at The University of Melbourne and now the project manager of Capital Works at RMIT University.
Both agree the nomination enabled them to connect with industry leaders. "Exposure and increased networking opportunities opened the possibility of working with new companies, further broadening my scope and also our company's," Amiri said.
The Young Achievers agree nominating for an ARBS Award is an opportunity not to be missed for other industry dynamos.
"Quite often we work extremely hard without recognition. In today’s busy environment many people are doing the same role that was occupied by two or more people previously. Therefore, it is important to be recognised for the valuable contribution made to industry."
The awards recognise excellence in the Australian industry across a range of areas including Young Achiever, Product Excellence, Project Excellence, Industry Education and Training, Outstanding Service & Maintenance Provider, Hall of Fame and the new category for 2018 Software/Digital Excellence.
ARBS exhibition manager, Sue Falcke, said the awards are an opportunity for industry players to showcase their skills, products and performance across all sectors of HVACR and the building services industry.
"It allows us to identify, promote and congratulate the talent and vision that sustains the industry," she said.
A panel of industry experts will evaluate the nominations based on various criteria such as leadership, sustainability, performance and innovation. The ARBS Industry Award winners will be honoured at a gala dinner to be held during the ARBS 2018 exhibition, from May 8-10, 2018 at the International Convention Centre in Sydney.
Further details and full category and criteria requirements for entry are available on the ARBS 2018 website.
Nominations close on February 5, 2018 and winners will be announced at the ARBS Awards gala dinner on May 9, 2018.