Hundreds of suppliers and distributors from across the commercial catering equipment industry gathered at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole from April 1 to 3 to form new friendships, open up new business opportunities, and celebrate being part of the ENSE community.
If you’re not currently an ENSE member or have only just joined the group, this article gives you a taste of how our annual Partnership Summit & Awards event works and what to expect.
It also features interviews with ENSE members and the senior leadership team.
What happened at the 2025 ENSE Partnership Summit & Awards?
The event opened with an afternoon meeting for ENSE’s distributors. This meeting explored not only the outstanding work distributors are doing within ENSE but also how they and the suppliers can get the most out of their membership moving forward.
There was a welcome dinner for all ENSE members in the evening, with (most of!) the congregation getting an early night in anticipation of what was in store the next morning.
Day two kicked off with multiple rounds of ten-minute table rotations, which allowed ENSE’s members to become acquainted with one another and discuss how they could help their counterparts maximise sales opportunities within the group. Think speed dating, only for the commercial catering equipment industry!
These rotations lasted from approximately 9am until 5:30pm, with the participants enjoying some delectable lunch in between.
Then, after everyone took a few hours to relax and reset, it was on to the gala dinner and awards.
Attendees enjoyed a three-course meal, with comedian Mark Jones providing the entertainment.
There were 13 award categories in total (you can check out the full list of award winners below), and many of our members enjoyed a drink or three in the hotel bar before calling it a night.
Day three featured more table rotations, with everyone getting a chance to speak to each other before the event concluded.
And just like that, the chairs were stacked up. The banners were taken down. The room was empty.
We’re ready to go again next year.
Award winners at the 2025 ENSE Partnership Summit & Awards
More than 50 ENSE members were nominated for an award, which tells you everything you need to know about the calibre of companies we have in our community and the invaluable contributions these companies are making to the commercial catering equipment industry.
Here is the full list of winners from our 2025 Partnership Summit & Awards, as voted for by their peers:
- Distributor Newcomer of the Year: Bartlett
- Distributor Highest Growth: The Kitchen Box
- Training Champion Award: ifse
- Distributor Commitment Award: Gratte Brothers Catering Equipment
- Supplier Highest Growth: Aqua Mundus
- Supplier Newcomer of the Year: Falcon Foodservice
- Distributor of the Year: Catering Projects
- Heavy Equipment of the Year: CED Fabrications
- Light Equipment of the Year: EAIS
- Associated Products and Services Supplier of the Year: Parts Town UK
- Sales and Service Support Supplier of the Year: Blue Seal
- Directors Award: Sylvester Keal
- Spirit Award: Garry Allitt
What they said: ENSE members
Ashley Ramsay, Projects Development Manager at Sylvester Keal: “I think what ENSE stands for and what we get from it is collaboration. We work with our competitors—how many industries can say that they do that? We’ve forged friendships with some of them, and they’ve actually helped us to grow, so being part of ENSE has been fantastic. Not only has this group given us invaluable opportunities and introduced us to manufacturers but it’s also introduced us to the industry as a whole and all of the people in it. We’ve found so much success in it, and this award really means a lot to us.”
Lawrence Hughes, Sales and Marketing Director for Falcon Foodservice: “Our journey with ENSE has been very busy since we joined. We’ve interacted with a whole range of dealers, made friends, and grown our family within ENSE. It’s been fantastic.”
Neil Vincent, Head of Sales at Parts Town UK: “We’ve been with ENSE since the beginning and it means such a lot to us that this award is voted for by ENSE members. So we’d like to say thank you to all of the members, and long may we continue being ENSE suppliers.”
What they said: Bob Adams, Managing Director
Why is the ENSE Partnership Summit & Awards so important for distributors and suppliers?
The Partnership Summit is really important for the suppliers because it allows them to see more than 70 leading distributors across the country in a two-day span. There’s no way they could do this in normal circumstances unless they were willing to do a lot of travelling around trying to see everybody!
For the distributors, it’s important because now they make the connection with the suppliers, where they can build the relationship, build trust, and therefore work together.
What were the highlights of the 2025 ENSE Partnership Summit & Awards from your perspective?
The highlight of our Partnership Summit & Awards has been the sheer scope of the entire event this year. A record number of people and companies attended.
The energy generated within the room from everybody’s conversations—and the subsequent relationships that are built from these conversations—is just incredible. What happens here is indescribable, and there’s simply no way it can be duplicated.
What would you like to say about the award winners?
Our award winners are leaders in the industry.
They’ve worked extremely hard over the last year, and this work has been recognised by their peers.
These people and companies have truly made a difference and are special to this group.
For anyone who isn’t already aware, what is ENSE?
ENSE is the UK’s premier buying consortium in the catering equipment industry. We help suppliers build their business and grow their market share while helping distributors build their profitability.
Beyond that, we also do a lot of marketing for them, both on our website and across social media.
Our strapline is ‘Collaboration, commitment, and community’ because these are three very important words for us.
There has to be collaboration between distributor and supplier for both of them to get the maximum benefit.
They both have to be committed to the process. When I say committed, they have to be able to put forth the effort to do business together.
Our previous strapline was ‘Commitment yields results’, and that still applies. And that commitment is really where that comes from, because both sides have to work hard to get the results they’re looking for.
And ultimately, ENSE is a community. The UK’s catering equipment industry is a wonderful community. It’s welcoming and inclusive, and ENSE is simply an extension of that.
How will ENSE continue to evolve in the years to come?
ENSE’s ‘what next’ goal is just growth in serving our community, both the distributors and the suppliers.
It’s literally a service organisation that helps both the distributors and suppliers advance their companies.
What they said: Ben Sherriff, Business Development Director
How does ENSE help its members?
We offer various schemes to help build cash runway and retrospective rebates for our distributors.
For our suppliers, it’s all about growing their market share, and this growth is driven by many different vehicles in ENSE, be that through our online portal, social media, Partnership Summit & Awards, or weekly webinars.
I could continue, but these avenues all lead to one road, which is success.
How have you seen the community grow over the last few years?
I’ve been in ENSE for nearly five years and it’s grown significantly in that time.
Looking back to COVID, the community now has a greater buying power.
We all have the same aims and beliefs. In an industry that’s so niche and is a micro-industry, we all need to get together, and we have.
Because of the collaboration within this community, we’ve seen ENSE grow to where it is today.
How do you think ENSE will continue to evolve in the years to come?
I think we’ll continue to evolve by doing what we’re doing as long as we speak to one another and realise the opportunities ahead.
We need to make sure we’re plugging gaps within the community, be that via a specific service, product, or type of dealer.
We also need to be mindful of how we’ve got here and where we’re going, making sure that we’re serving the existing members whilst also looking to grow and expand.
Whatever we achieve in the future, we need to stay true to our core beliefs.
Why do you think the ENSE Partnership Summit & Awards is so valuable for this community?
At one point in time, all of the key decision-makers within the catering equipment industry are together in one room.
This event is also time-efficient in that you’re seeing everyone in one place.
There’s a real atmosphere of camaraderie; you’re sharing knowledge, and you’re able to quickly put your buying process in place.
What would you say to anybody who wants to be a part of this?
If you’re a supplier, we’ll help you grow your market share.
If you’re a distributor, we’ll help you to assist your business with extra revenue on top of what you’re already doing.
It’s pretty much a no-brainer.
Make your mark in this community
If, having read this article, you’ve decided you want to be a part of ENSE, you can reach out to us today at 07775 643557 or 07500 778457, or you can email [email protected].
The best time to join ENSE was yesterday; the second best time is today.