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NASIC member Chris Lewis Fire & Security Ltd won two of the security industry's flagship awards at the recent Security Excellence Awards. The company was recognised for leading the industry in the use of IT - winning the 'IT Initiative of the Year' award, and for having some of the country's most talented trainee engineers - its apprentices coming first in the national Apprentice Skills Challenge.
Acknowledged as the 'Oscars' of the security world, the Security Excellence Awards promote and reward individuals and companies within the security industry that have achieved the very highest standards of success.
The IT Initiative of the Year Award recognises the organisation that has made the most positive use of Information technology (IT) and is open to manufacturers, consultants, security guarding companies, installers and managers.
Not only is it the second time the company has received this prestigious prize, having previously won it in 2006, it was also the seventh successive year that it has been nominated as a finalist in the category.
The award reflects the company's continuous and targeted investment in IT, in particular the establishment of a new division - Lewis Building Technology - which focuses on integrating and automating a building's disparate technologies with its security systems in order to deliver improved control and efficiencies.
Chris Lewis, Managing Director, commented, "We obviously impressed the judges in the way we have evolved our integration capabilities beyond fire and security systems to deliver much smarter solutions for our clients.
We understand that customers want simple management and control that they can access from anywhere, but we are adding further value by using security to drive energy-saving and improve resource management."
Winners of the Apprentice Skills Challenge, Daniel Boyes and Mike Barnett each received £500 as their prize. The pair had competed against apprentices from around the UK in May at IFSEC (the International Fire and Security Exhibition and Conference), and successfully used their skills and knowledge to secure first place.
Chris Lewis Fire & Security was also nominated as a finalist in two further award categories at this year's awards - 'Large Security Installer' and 'Customer Care Initiative'.