THE commercial manager of St Helens-based insulation specialists Knauf won an award at a prestigious ceremony hosted by TV presenter Claudia Winkleman.

The BBC Strictly Come Dancing presenter acted as host at the Builders Merchant Journal (BMJ) Awards at The Brewery in London.

John Gaunt, commercial manager at Knauf which has a manufacturing plant on Stafford Road, Grange Park became the first ever recipient of the Best Sales Representative award.

He received the gong in recognition of his pursuit of excellence in his role.

John has worked at Knauf Insulation in a variety of commercial roles for over 20 years, building long-term strategic relationships with the builders’ merchants.

In 2017, John had been named Account Manager of the Year at the National Buying Group (NBG) Conference awards for the third time in a row.

After receiving the award, John said: “Builders’ merchants play a vital role in the ongoing success of the construction industry and BMJ is a very powerful voice in this sector, so I’m really honoured to have won the award.

"The winners were voted for by the entire industry – my peers – which makes me even more proud to have been recognised by people I deeply respect.

“At Knauf Insulation, we’re advocates of long-term partnerships with our merchant customers and we have invested significantly in the support we offer to them, whether through our commercial and customer service teams or our training schemes.

"We want to be the world’s most trusted insulation partner, and strong relationships with merchants are a key part of this.”

Fiona Russell-Horne, editor-in-chief at Builders Merchants Journal, added: “It’s been a wonderful celebration. The competition out there is fierce, so huge congratulations to our winners and everyone who made it to the final.”

At the event, guests donated to a charity fundraiser carried out on behalf of CRASH – the industry charity for the homeless, which Knauf Insulation supports on an ongoing basis – and MIND, the mental health charity.

More on knaufinsulation.co.uk and about The Brewery on thebrewery.co.uk