Another chance to see the ever-expanding collection of EFX unique commissions.

The creativity that knows no bounds!
Please visit our stand at International Confex, Earls Court 1-3 March, Stand R300 to get some sumptuous new ideas of how to create that show stopping award in glass, metal, recycled materials or sustainable wood. The ultimate finishing touch for your next event.

And...pick up your new brochure and eco bag!

To register for the exhibition visit www.international-confex.com

For those involved in organising incentive or recognition programmes, a key challenge is how tomake a scheme memorable and sufficiently worthy in the eyes of the recipients.  Special EFX has recently worked on The BP R&M Technical Service Awards, which are a striking example of awards with both intrinsic and rarity value.

Limited edition, sterling silver ingots, each 70 by 50mm in size and weighing 100g, were made; each bears BP’s special hallmark and is etched with an intricate design, which illustrates the corporation’s strategic activities and logo. The ingots are housed in an acrylic case, with a magnetic closing mechanism and were presented in the US & UK this spring.  The ingots were struck using a hardened steel die which took 3 weeks to create due to the complexity of the design. Another unique feature was the hallmark- Special EFX would normally have the silver piece stamped with their Oe makers mark but to make this piece more exclusive they registered the R&M letters as a sponsors mark which could be the limited edition valuable antique of the future. They used this marking technique when producing 70,000 silver in- flight gifts for BA Concorde year over a 12 year period. The final piece was boxed in a special made wooden and silk lined box with a specially printed polishing cloth explaining the significance of the unique hallmark.

 And the end result was that the customer was delighted with the finished awards, whilst the recipients now proudly own a collector’s item.“It was important to demonstrate to our technical staff that their contributions to the business are valued.  The awards provided a tangible focal point for this recognition and were really appreciated by all the winners – smiles all round!”

www.bp.com

Each year The Cavendish London Hotel runs an internal awards ceremony to recognize its star performers.  This year the event was a black-tie dinner held at the Lancaster London on Sunday 9th January, where twelve awards were presented to outstanding members of their team. 

Bespoke designed and made from gold plated aluminium by Special EFX, the golden star awards picked up on the theme and logo of the hotel’s ‘Shine’ training programme.  Sarah Strawbridge, Human Resources Manager at the hotel was delighted with how they turned out: “Everyone thought the awards looked fantastic and we received many positive comments about them on the night”.

www.thecavendishlondon.com

When the top prize for a recognition scheme is the offer of up to £5 million in lending and a financial reward of up to £200,000, the design of the winning trophies needs to be similarly impressive.  That was the task t.three, the Manchester advertising agency, posed to Special EFX, when they requested design ideas for HSBC’s Business Thinking 2010 awards.

Gareth Griffiths headed up the team at t.three: “The design had to emphasise the globality and international reach of HSBC, and EFX was quick to grasp the brief; whilst we had design ideas of our own, EFX introduced new concepts and elements, which were invaluable – we enjoyed the collaborative approach.”  The final design features a nickel plated, coil globe, encircled with a red ring representing HSBC’s global reach.

Emphasising the international focus of the awards, the finals of the competition took place in Hong Kong in December, where Richard North of Wow! Stuff, the UK toy company, took first prize. t.three report that the event was such a success HSBC will be running it again in 2011, and the design of the awards is to be repeated.

www.businessthinking.hsbc.co.uk
www.t3-net.com

The Institute of Directors has commenced its annual search for deserving regional finalists for its prestigious Director of the Year Awards, due to be held in September 2011.  A competition that recognises the talent and achievements of some of the nation’s leading business men and women calls for suitably professional and esteemed awards, which was a brief EFX lived up to when it designed and manufactured these polished aluminium and clear acrylic awards for the IoD Northern Ireland Director of the Year Awards.

There were seven category winners, and the awards were presented at a recent event held at Belfast’s Merchant Hotel and attended by Employment & Learning Minister, Danny Kennedy MLA.  

 www.iod.com