The Keystone Group is delighted to announce that it has won the ‘Best Company’ award at the UTV Business Eye awards. Meanwhile, Keylite Roof Windows was named this week as ‘Supplier of the Year’ at the Builders Merchants Awards for Excellence in London, highlighting the company’s dedication to excellent customer service.
Speaking after picking up the award, Chairman Sean Coyle said that it has rounded off an outstanding year for the company and its staff: “2016 has been an outstanding year for the company, and winning this major award is the icing on the cake. The development of new product ranges and entering new markets is a key factor in the success of the Keystone Group. As well as cementing our position as the leading manufacturer of Steel Lintels in the UK and Ireland, by constantly developing new and unique lintels product lines, Keystone has also focused on diversifying into other non-lintels product areas, and as a result also now includes Keylite Roof Windows, IG Elements, IG Masonry Support and Smartroof brands in the group’s stable. Our philosophy of constant innovation and huge commitment to customer care has seen us in good stead in recent years, where we have more than doubled our workforce to over 1000 people in the last 3 years.”
Speaking after the award was announced, Richard Buckley, editor of Business Eye
Magazine said: “The Keystone Group impressed the judging panel with a detailed entry which painted a comprehensive picture of an extremely dynamic indigenous County Tyrone company. Clearly it has grown in impressive fashion from its roots as a small-scale supplier of steel lintels to become a major employer and one of the most driven and innovative companies in Northern Ireland as a whole.”
Despite a stop-start year for the industry, Keystone Group’s continued growth has outperformed the sector, with sales year-to-date up in excess of 20%, compared to 2015. The Group is multi award-winning, and its most recent accolades include the prestigious Industry Product of the year award for 2016. The company has also recently won the National Housebuilder Award for product of the year for Hi-therm, and Construction Innovation of the year Award in 2015 for IG’s revolutionary Brick Slip Masonry Support systems.
In 2016 the group was also honoured to be the first Northern Ireland based manufacturing company to be singled out for praise by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond through its inclusion in the Parliamentary Review.
Earlier this year, Keylite Roof windows which is part of the Keystone group was named as one of Europe’s most innovative and inspiring companies, according to the inaugural edition of London Stock Exchange Group’s, ‘1000 Companies to Inspire Europe’ report, and is the fastest growing Roof Window Brand across the UK and Europe.
With the development of the 3 younger businesses the group have doubled their workforce in the last 3 years to over 1000 people.
Eithne Kelly, Keystone Group CEO stated: “Since we set the company up in 1989, making one product with a handful of staff, it’s been an incredible experience to see it grow to the level we have reached today. Despite the current economic climate, we believe the opportunities to compete in Europe are considerable and the opportunity to gain market share in the UK offers the prospect of extremely significant sales growth.”