A lifetime achievement award was among the haul of awards Jones Bros brought home from a ceremony celebrating excellence in civil engineering.
Three employees from the Ruthin-based civil engineering company were honoured at the Civil Engineers Contractors Association (CECA) Wales annual dinner, held at the Marriott Hotel, Cardiff.
Among the big winners was long-serving Jones Bros training manager Ken Jones, who received a lifetime achievement award after 42 years’ service to the construction company.
Also taking home a top prize was Christian Williams, who won the apprentice of the year award, and Rhydian Hafal was named the runner-up in the trainee engineer of the year category.
67-year-old Ken, who retired from his role as Jones Bros’ training manager in March, said: “It was a really great night out, and a lovely way to end my career.
“They were saying some lovely things – I didn’t think they were talking about me at first!”
“It was quite moving in a way to have two young lads from Jones Bros win on the same night I was honoured for being here for so long.
“I’ve got to thank Jones Bros really. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve everything that I have in the construction industry.”
Christian, from Cefn Meiriadog near St Asaph, capped a magnificent 12 months with Jones Bros, having started as an apprentice in March last year.
Since then the 23-year-old has enjoyed a busy year with the civil engineering firm, having applied his skills to projects in Wrexham, Buckley and Macclesfield.
He also made an appearance on national news and radio shows when the BBC’s chief economics correspondent Hugh Pym visited Jones Bros as part of coverage of national apprentice week.
Christian said: “It’s been a great year with Jones Bros – I’ve been on the telly and everything!”
“It’s great to just be nominated to be honest, and to win is fantastic.
“I found out when I was shovelling away snow in Llangollen, and to then get suited-and-booted and hear my name read out was brilliant.
“I’ve had lots of great opportunities with Jones Bros, their training has been absolutely excellent.”
24-year-old Rhydian made it a hat-trick of success after placing second in his awards category.
The Ruthin-born site engineer has spent the last year assisting with the development of a recycling facility in Oxfordshire, with responsibility for on-site health and safety as well as co-ordinating parts of the project.
He said: “To just be nominated is a real honour, and to then find that CECA rate what you’ve been doing enough to make the final is fantastic.
“This is a great place to work, and there are real opportunities to progress. I’m currently doing my chartered professional review, and Jones Bros are helping me every step of the way.”
Family-owned Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK, founded in the 1950s, is a leading specialist in various sectors of the construction industry, including waste management and recycling, renewable energy and highways.
The company employs 300 people and, in the last two years, has invested more than £4m in new plant and equipment. It has regional offices in Swansea, Inverness, Linlithgow, near Falkirk and Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire.