240 delegates gathered at the 5* Celtic Manor Resort, for ChipsAway’s Annual Conference and 25th Anniversary Awards Dinner over the weekend. ChipsAway is celebrating 25 years as the UK’s leading minor car body paintwork repair brand.

Managing Director of ChipsAway, Tim Harris kicked off the event – addressing the crowd and highlighting the key areas for growth and development in the future. This was followed by an update from Technical Director, Simon Kings, who highlighted ChipsAway’s dedication to training the franchise network on Electric Vehicles, Advanced Dent Removal and ADAS. Ella Pugh, Head of Sales and Marketing concluded the presentations with a Marketing update, highlighting ChipsAway’s marketing achievements in 2019.

The conference was followed by a vendor show, where key industry experts and suppliers exhibited products throughout the afternoon. Sponsors and exhibitors demonstrated new innovative products and technology for specialists to see first-hand.

The 25^th Anniversary celebrations continued into the evening with a glittering awards dinner, at which top performers from the ChipsAway network were recognised and rewarded for their phenomenal achievements.

ChipsAway’s second ever franchisees to join the network, Gary and Dean Watson, were commended for their 25 years in the business, both receiving personalised silver cufflinks, champagne and vouchers for an experience day of their choice to mark the occasion!

The highly coveted award for ‘Mobile Franchisee of the Year’ went to Tan Likiliki, who only joined the network in 2017 and since joining Tan has worked exceptionally hard to grow his business.

“Tan is an extremely valued member of the ChipsAway network and very worthy winner of this title,” comments Tim Harris, Managing Director of ChipsAway. “He embodies the key values of the ChipsAway brand by delivering exceptional quality repairs, outstanding customer service and ultimately managing a fantastic local business.”

Other high achievers included ‘Newcomer of the Year’ Andy Hobbs, who has achieved fantastic results within his first-year of trading, and ‘Marketeer of the Year’ went to Phil and Cas Clifford-Wareham for the 2^nd year running! Phil and Cas are always willing to try out new marketing initiatives and are hugely proactive in raising brand awareness of their Car Care Centre in Stoke-on-Trent. So successful in fact, that Phil and Cas also won ‘Car Care Centre of the Year’! St Albans-based franchisees, Brian and Amanda Palmer, won the ‘Customer Service Award’ for their outstanding dedication to customer service, which was extremely well-deserved given their fantastic review ratings.

Last, but by no means least, the ‘Franchisee’s Unsung Hero’ award went to Matthew Leeson, for his outstanding contribution and always going above and beyond to help out his fellow members of the network.

To complete the evening, a raffle was held raising a record £2,500 for Help for Heroes, before guests danced the night away.

“We had a fantastic day and night!” comments ChipsAway double award winners Phil and Cas Clifford-Wareham. “The effort and work which goes into the annual conference is clear for all to see and the whole team gets so much out of attending. It was very unexpected and a huge honour to be awarded ‘Car Care Centre of the Year’, not to mention the ‘Marketing’ award, and we’re looking forward to putting our ambitious plans for the future into action with the help and support of the great team at Head Office!”