Wincanton has been presented with the “Special Award for Customer and Customer Results” in the North of England Business Excellence Awards 2009, in recognition of the operation it runs in partnership with HJ Heinz at Heinz’s Kitt Green plant.
The company received the award from the Rt Hon Rosie Winterton MP at the annual awards dinner at the Royal Armouries in Leeds.
The 13-year partnership has seen Wincanton manage a dedicated 350,000 sq ft automated warehouse at Kitt Green, providing national distribution for all the HJ Heinz brands via a fleet supported by the wider Wincanton network.
It has developed a range of cost-saving solutions including a model which gives an accurate cost of delivering individual product lines in differing pack formats.
Wincanton also provides an on-site packing service, processing more than 8.4 million cases for promotional purposes each year.
David Teale, chief executive of North of England Excellence, said: “The awards assessors were impressed by the way in which the Wincanton-Heinz operation has established large pockets of efficiency and excellence.
“Award winners like these are setting an example to other businesses by leading the way forward in the face of recession. Organisations which can raise standards and improve their business processes and performance will be well placed to cope with the current downturn and will be in better shape when the upturn arrives.”
Ms Winterton, minister for Yorkshire and The Humber and minister for Regional Economic Development and Co-ordination, said: “I congratulate the winners of these prestigious awards and thank all the businesses and organisations from the North of England who took part.
“This is a great opportunity to showcase the excellent business management we have in the North of England and celebrate the commitment to continuous improvement.”
