AUGUST 2019 | 25
Skills
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
YOUNG EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR
IS “NATURAL VEKA LEADER”
VEKA UK Group’s Trainee Operations
Manager, Khaleel Mahmood, has
been named joint winner of the
Young Employee of the Year Award
at the prestigious Burnley
Business Awards 2019.
The trophy was presented in
recognition of the valuable con-
tribution Khaleel has made to the
industry-leading PVCu systems
supplier since he joined in 2017.
The Awards Ceremony, organised
by Burnley Council and the Burn-
ley Bondholder Brand Scheme, was
held in the beautiful surroundings
of Towneley Hall and grounds and
hosted by Christian Fraser from
BBC World News. The event cele-
brated the region’s booming eco-
nomic infrastructure; recognising
and rewarding the hard work of
companies and individuals across
the Burnley business community.
VEKA UK Group was short-
listed for in an impressive four
awards, including ‘Manufactur-
ing Excellence’, ‘Employer of the
Year’, ‘Burnley Business of the
Year’ and ‘Young Employee of the
Year’ which hardworking Khaleel
scooped on the night.
The Lancashire manufacturer is
no stranger to these Awards hav-
ing, in recent years, been named
‘Business of the Year’ twice in a
row, and ‘Employer of the Year’
at the last BBA event. VEKA UK
Group was also recently crowned
Manufacturing Business of the
Year at the 2019 Red Rose Busi-
ness awards.
Operations Director Paul Arm-
strong said: “VEKA UK Group is a
major Burnley employer and we
were delighted to be shortlisted in
so many categories at the Business
Awards; it’s always a pleasure to
be recognised for continuing hard
work, and being shortlisted in four
such varied categories shows that
ours is a well rounded company,
as committed to staff training and
development as we are to manu-
facturing excellence.
“Khaleel’s
award was very
well deserved; since joining us,
he has consistently gone ‘above
and beyond’ in every task, and has
thrown himself into every availa-
ble training opportunity. It’s hard
to believe how much he’s achieved
in just two years.
“Khaleel’s first project saw him
lead a team in carbon fibre wrap-
ping concrete beams within the
technically advanced mixing plant.
He was responsible for managing
his team safely and effectively
and for managing a budget of
£200,000. This task was completed
under budget and well within the
expected timescale.
“In the packaging department,
an increase in production had
led to a bottleneck of around
150-200 pallets of manufactured
product – with a combined value
of £280,000 – which had not yet
been made ready for sale. Khaleel
and the team had this backlog
cleared in under three months.
“Khaleel then spent four months
on shifts in the lamination depart-
ment where he acted as Interim
Production Unit Leader during the
restructure of three teams. Khaleel
proved that, as well as being log-
ical and practical, he is also great
with people and well liked across
the business; a natural VEKA
leader.
“These experiences led Khaleel
to his current role as Graduate
Trainee in Operations Manage-
ment. He’s proven himself to be
capable, intelligent and efficient in
a way that makes him a pleasure
to work with and a huge asset
to the business; displaying VEKA
values at all times.
“Our congratulations to
Khaleel and all who celebrated
at the Burnley Business Awards
evening.”
Khaleel said: “I was absolutely
thrilled to be named joint win-
ner of this award. I knew I had
been shortlisted, but it was still a
big surprise to win on the night.
When I read the profiles of the
other nominees I was really im-
pressed; the calibre of competition
was high, so I’m very proud of
myself.
“The support and encourage-
ment I get from my colleagues
at VEKA UK Group is fantastic,
but it was extra special to have
an independent panel of judges
acknowledge that I’m doing a
good job and pushing in the right
direction.
“Having such a commendation
has motivated me even more - to
work harder than ever, and see
what else I can achieve in the year
ahead.”
There are more than 380 people
working at VEKA UK Group’s
Burnley HQ and the company
strives to ensure that every person
is happy and fulfilled in their
role, working with employees
to find out what can be done to
help them achieve their goals in
the year ahead. The result is a
hard-working, committed work-
force with shared goals - creating
a customer experience that is
second to none.
www.vekauk.com