A top construction trade supply company has won an important accolade.

J P Corry - which is based on the Springfield Road, in west Belfast - was crowned as the overall winner in the inaugural Octabuild Northern Ireland Builders Merchant Awards.

It came tops in the award having being judged alongside other builders' merchants on the basis of customer service, merchandising, management systems, housekeeping and health & safety.

The company's Belfast branch also won the Co Antrim award.

An audience of building trade professionals who attended the award's dinner heard that J P Corry has been in business for nearly 200 years, has 18 branches across Ireland with over 300 full and part time staff.

They market themselves as being 'The Complete Building Supplier', providing everything needed for a building project with experienced staff always on hand to offer help and advice at a local level.

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Nick Hughes, Branch Manager, J P Corry, Springfield Road was on hand to receive the accolade from Edwin Poots, MLA, and Minister for the Environment, pictured with Noel Conroy, Chairman Octabuild, who was also present and the Irish international rugby star David Humphreys who was the guest speaker at the awards presentation in the Stormont Hotel.

Octabuild is unique among representative groups in the building and construction industry. The objective of the group is to promote the benefits of higher quality, Irish manufactured products.

The building material manufacturers who organised the awards as Octabuild are: Gyproc, Evo-Stik, Dulux Paints, Kingspan Insulation, Sanbra Fyffe, Tegral and Wavin.

In total 12 builders merchants won awards with the other award winners being Haldane Fisher, Newry for the Co Down and Large Business Awards and B McNamee & Co Ltd, Tyrone for the Co Tyrone and Family Business Awards.

Jacob's Building Supplies, Coleraine won the Co Londonderry Award and N.G. Bell & Son Ltd, Newtownards walked away with the Small Business Award while Brooks Building Merchants, Cookstown received the Heavy Goods Award.

Murdocks Builders Merchants, Newry won the Trade Counter Award and Eglinton Building Supplies in Co Londonderry took the Management Systems Award.

Bangor Building Supplies, Co Down took the Merchandising Award and P. McDermott & Sons, Omagh won the Customer Service Award.

Peter Woods Building Supplies, Belfast recieved the Housekeeping/Health & Safety Award and another J P Corry branch - this time in Ballymena - won the Marketing Award.

(BmCC/GK)