The company received the award on Friday (September 26) at an event held at its Bazaar Street headquarters, where the presentation was made by the Queen’s personal representative, the Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester, Warren Smith and the High Sheriff of Greater Manchester, Edith Conn.
Accepting the award at the ceremony, which was attended by local dignitaries and Gary Titley, the leader of the Labour Party in the European Parliament, I&G Cohen’s managing director, Elliot Cohen, said: “Today must surely count as our greatest high.”
“In recent years, the business has seen many changes, always trying to stay one step ahead of the competition. This could not have been achieved without the dedication and hard work of our staff,” he added.
I&G Cohen’s success, which came in the international trade category, was originally announced in April – to coincide with the Queen’s Birthday (see letsrecycle.com story).
And, speaking to letsrecycle.com at Friday’s ceremony, the company’s financial director, Philip Geller, explained that it had come alongside a host of other developments for the firm.
“We’ve used this as an opportunity to get a new logo, new vehicles, we’ve invested in new plant and new machinery,” he said.
Echoing Mr Cohen’s sentiments, he described receiving the award as “the most fantastic thing that’s happened to the company”, which was set up in 1959 and remains a family-run business, “now sorting 10,000 tonnes of textiles a year”.
He explained that being a recipient of the award “gives people a reassurance about the services we offer”, adding that while it was “too early to say” how much it would boost I&G Cohen’s business, they had noticed increased interest in their services since the original announcement was made.
As well as boosting the profile of the company itself, Mr Geller claimed that the award would represent a boon to the textile recycling industry as a whole.
“It’s great for the industry and it’s good for the economy, with the economic situation like it is,” he said.
“Its great for our voice,” he added. “We would like to see more regulation and more enforcement, and we can use the award to get more recognition for that.”
Future
Looking to the future of the company, Mr Geller explained that I&G Cohen believed that kerbside collections were “the way forward”, and as a result, the company was “looking to expand further into that”.
He added: “For local authorities it’s an easy hit, and we can offer them bespoke schemes. They can produce great figures from that – we’re basically diverting waste from landfill for them for free.
The firm currently works with a number of partners including local authorities (particularly in the North West), waste management companies such as Biffa and Veolia, and also charities, operating both kerbside and textile bank collections on their behalf.
Remaining positive about the company’s future outlook, Mr Geller explained that “one of the things we have been successful at is being adaptive”.
“I’m really confident that we’ll take the business from strength to strength with the support of our staff, customers and suppliers,” he concluded.
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