Of course I would say that our TTJ Awards get better every year wouldn’t I ? But I really do believe it.

The Awards were created to recognise excellent service in the timber trade and to provide an occasion to celebrate the good job it does and the quality products it sells.

Each year we review the whole undertaking to see how we can develop, improve and keep it relevant to a fast-changing industry. This time around we made one of our most exciting innovations yet and one which, judging by the applause at the Awards ceremony last week, has hit a real chord in the trade.

The new Trainee of the Year category was launched in recognition of the fact that young people coming into the industry are its future and that training is now gaining momentum across the sector.

The Award attracted entrants from companies large and small and, as one of the four judges, I can vouch that the calibre of the trainees was extremely high and that the tough judging process involved some pretty ‘intense’ discussions!

Out of the four finalists invited to the Awards ceremony, the eventual winner was James White of James Latham plc. He came through due to his performance in the Institute of Wood Science certificate course and the application of his training in the workplace. As my fellow judge, TTF president Geoff Rhodes commented, James’s achievements should act as a “beacon” for other trainees.

Another positive message for the future of the industry came from our Awards host and guest speaker, architect and broadcaster Maxwell Hutchinson. A long-time fan of using timber in building, he told the audience that the rapidly rising demand for new housing in the UK was a “challenge and opportunity” for timber. He referred to the quick-build all-timber houses developed by the architect Walter Segal in the 1960s and urged the industry to develop his concept with new timber construction “ideas and systems to tantalise the minds of creative architects”. In particular, he recommended approaches to wood construction that “do not banish timber to the skeleton of a building” but “celebrate its beauty and sustainability on the skin as well”. It was an inspiring “call to arms” and created the perfect tone for the Awards presentations.

And finally, of course, congratulations to all this year’s winners and finalists from all of us at TTJ!