including wholesalers, mail order companies, shopping centres, stationers and large, independent retailers. The criteria for manufacturer assessment include customer support, availability of supplies, sales promotion and advertising support, adherence to delivery schedules and order fulfilment.

After 2001, DURABLE has now emerged once again from the finals as "Manufacturer of the Year" in the category of enterprises below £ 10 million in annual sales. Moreover, the jury honoured the company's outstanding marketing performance by granting it the sought-after "Marketing Excellence Award". "We are highly gratified by these awards, in which we see a special recognition of the effort and investment which DURABLE has put into its excellent customer service in the United Kingdom and on the continent", Sean Starkey, Managing Director of DURABLE UK, comments. "Top-class customer support and quality standards in service are the basic principles of our business strategy, and every single member of our staff is one hundred percent committed to reaching our goals. To have this officially recognized by an award from our partners in the industry is certainly the highest honour we can achieve", Sean Starkey adds.