Interserve wins prestigious award at the BIFM Awards 2010
Interserve’s subsidiary, Landmarc Support Services, in conjunction with Defence Training Estate (DTE), has won the prestigious Judges’ Special Recognition Award at the British Institute of Facilities Management Awards 2010.
Landmarc and DTE East collected the prize at a ceremony in London on Monday 11 October for their successful delivery of a ground-breaking military training facility that replicates the contemporary operating environment in the Middle East.
Landmarc has been a strategic partner with the DTE, delivering safe and sustainable training estate and facilities to the armed forces, since 2003. With Afghanistan’s unique environment redefining operational training needs, Landmarc is increasingly required to respond to Urgent Operational Requirements by developing new and realistic training facilities.
Two middle eastern village complexes - one rural and one urban - were created near Thetford in Norfolk, complete with three Forward Operating Bases, a bridge, road infrastructure and six lanes of Counter Improvised Explosive Devices, all constructed in eight months. In addition 8,000 Afghan props were researched and sourced to ensure that the conditions of Helmand can be authentically recreated in the depths of Norfolk, where 30,000 troops are expected to benefit from the new training facility every year.
Lead Judge Terry Trickett said: “When judging the project, I quickly realised that this is an installation of national importance that has already been instrumental in saving lives and gives promise of saving many more as long as the UK’s engagement in Afghanistan continues. I feel I have a personal responsibility to a team of dedicated people who have all contributed in making a crucial and imaginative idea work.”
Steve Utley, Landmarc Project Director, commented: “It is a great achievement to win this award. This is strategically one of the most important training initiatives of recent years, providing our armed forces with a capability that cannot be replicated elsewhere. Landmarc is proud to have managed a project that has provided state of the art training features for the DTE, enabling 30,000 troops a year to upgrade their skills in a realistic environment before deployment to the Middle East.”
Lieutenant Colonel Simon Lloyd, Commander of DTE East, said: "There is no denying the radical impact this new training resource will have on the way British troops are trained. What Landmarc and the DTE have created here is something extremely special. It has revolutionised the way our soldiers train and it will continue to contribute hugely to saving lives.”
The BIFM International Investors in FM Excellence Awards celebrate achievements in the facilities management sector and this year were attended by over 1,000 industry leaders. The Judges’ Special Recognition Award is not presented as a matter of course but only if there is an outstanding contender.
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For further information please contact:
Giles Scott 0118 960 2307
Head of Corporate Communications
Elizabeth Morley / Tom Eckersley 020 7379 5151
Maitland
About Interserve
Interserve's vision is to be the Trusted Partner of all our stakeholders. We are one of the world’s foremost support services and construction companies, operating in the public and private sectors in the UK and internationally. We offer advice, design, construction and facilities management services for society's infrastructure and provide a range of plant and equipment in specialist fields. Interserve is based in the UK. It has revenue of £1.9 billion and a workforce of 50,000 people worldwide.
Defence website: www.defence.interserve.com
Main website: www.interserve.com
Landmarc website: www.landmarcfm.com
