The Fleet Van Summit and Exhibition will return to the Telford International Centre on September 24, 2015. As with last year, the Fleet Van Awards will take place after the Summit.

The annual event, hosted by Fleet Van and in partnership with the Freight Transport Association will be expanding into bigger exhibition halls to create more space following last year’s ‘sell out’ event.  

The Fleet Van Summit and Exhibition is recognised as one of the industry's leading events, at which Britain's van fleet operators can hone their skills and learn to run their operations more safely and more cost-effectively. In addition to a line-up of top speakers, delegates will get the chance to pose questions and listen to real-life case studies as well as share best practice.

Fiat and BT Fleet have already been confirmed as Headline sponsors for the 2015 Summit, and Trimble, Jaama, Halfords Autocentres, Clarks Vehicle Conversions and Selsia Vehicle Accident Centres will also be supporting the event.

The Fleet Van Awards are the benchmark awards for the light commercial vehicle industry, with trophies up for grabs for LCV manufacturers, fleet operators and supplier companies.

Last year’s Awards were a sell-out success - attended by over 400 guests.

Sponsors so far confirmed for the 2015 Fleet Van Awards are Fiat Professional, BT Fleet, ARI Fleet UK, Zenith, Halfords Autocentres and Telogis.

Mark Cartwright, head of vans and logistics buyers at Freight Transport Association, said: “The 2014 Fleet Van Summit and Awards Dinner were a triumph. The UK van operating industries are vital to our economy and events like this are a fantastic way of celebrating our industry. The Summit speakers were first class, the Awards recognised excellence and the dinner provided a first class opportunity to network with a who’s who of our industry.”

Award winner, Rory Morgan, head of logistics support, at Iron Mountain, a leading provider of storage and information management services, added: “I was naturally delighted to be presented with the Van Fleet Manager award, particularly as I had brought along my immediate team for the evening. The presentation maybe for an individual but without my team it would not have been possible to achieve the award. They have worked extremely hard to deliver such great benefits to the company. We feel that it’s fantastic to have this recognition from the industry as it endorses the effort put in by the company.

“The van industry often suffers from poor publicity so it’s great to see so many companies along with Fleet Van and affiliations like The Van Excellence Scheme working relentlessly to change those misconceptions.”

Another winner, Nicky Simpson, commercial director at SHB Hire Ltd, commented: “We were delighted at winning the prestigious Van Supplier of the Year 2014 award. Each and every member of staff has put their all in to SHB to ensure that our customers are our number one priority. To gain this recognition from the industry proves that our projects to continuously improve the business and move it forward are working. We were, and continue to be, incredibly proud of receiving this award.”

Vince Shaw, fleet operations manager of Ford, stated: “Everyone likes to win awards, and Ford is definitely no exception; we were proud to finish 2014 with a huge haul because such success is a reflection of what our customers and the media think of our vehicles. Utilising the combined resources and expertise of the global Ford team has allowed us to develop and launch a completely new range of state-of-the-art commercial vehicles and we were delighted that the product integrity, fitness for purpose and low cost of ownership of this full and expanded new range was recognised by the Fleet Van Awards panel.”

Stephen Briers, Fleet Van’s editor in chief concluded: “After last year’s success, it is great to be going back to The Telford International Centre with a bigger and better Fleet Van Summit and Awards.  The event is seen as an integral part of the van fleet industry calendar and offers an opportunity for the industry to share best practice, network and celebrate the night's achievements.”

For table sales booking and enquiries contact Emma-Louise Kinnaird, event administrator, 01733 395133 or emma-louise.kinnaird@bauermedia.co.uk  and details on sponsorship and exhibition opportunities contact Kate Howard, event organiser, 01733 468146 or kate.howard@bauermedia.co.uk