Its two years since CES Cannock opened in January 2010. To celebrate reaching their 2nd birthday, the branch recently held their own open day. It gave customers the opportunity to meet the team and gain a ‘behind the scenes’ look at the branch.

The daylong event was supported by a host of suppliers. Representatives from Yuasa, Blue Print, Ring Automotive, Carwood, Mann Filter, Hofmann and Sykes Pickavent were on hand to discuss their products and answer questions from local customers. Whilst the all day barbecue, courtesy of clutch manufacturer LuK, ensured customers were well fed.

Other highlights included car care specialist Cartec’s demonstration of their range of cleaning products, whilst the CES Garage Equipment Team exhibited the latest diagnostics kit and workshop tools.

Afterwards Bart Wargos, Cannock branch manager commented, "It was great that customers were able to share our birthday celebrations. The open day provided the opportunity for all the team to meet our customers and for me to learn a little bit more about their business. I’m also very thankful to our suppliers for all their fantastic support."

Matthew Warren from CES (UK) Ltd has won the prestigious IAAF Parts Advisor of the Year award. To claim top spot Matthew had to demonstrate his parts knowledge, business acumen and communication skills to a select judging panel. Matthew received his award from IAAF President Nick Best at the Federation’s recent Awards Dinner.

Following their own internal selection process, CES (UK) entered three candidates for the award. HR Manager, Sarah Emes-Young commented "We’re delighted that Matthew has won this award. Our other candidates also achieved high marks. It demonstrates our ongoing commitment to delivering the highest customer service. It’s vital that our front end staff have the expertise to help our customers."

"The IAAF Award recognises customer service excellence and expert technical knowledge in individual parts persons, and we congratulate Matthew on his success as 'Parts Advisor of the Year' for 2011," said Nick Best, President, Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation.

Naturally Matthew, who joined CES in 2002 was delighted to receive the accolade. "I felt honoured to receive the award. I was quite surprised to win, as I simply used the knowledge I’d acquired over the years. CES help its advisors keep up-to-date by providing regular training and I’m sure this helped me."

This is the second time in three years that Parts Advisors from CES (UK) have won the award. In 2009, the awards debut year, staff from CES claimed all three top places. The company has over 120 Parts Advisors with the ATA Accreditation and uses the annual award to help maintain the standards of the qualification.