Success blooms in Red Rose Awards

Dennis Eagle's Blackpool team collecting the Red Rose Collaboration Award

Blackpool may be best known for its tower and illuminations, but these awards shone a light on Dennis Eagle’s activities at the Burton Road site. The former Duple site draws on the region’s rich coachbuilding expertise and now assembles over 1,000 Elite+ cabs every year.

In front of more than 1,000 guests, Dennis Eagle scooped two awards. The first, the Commitment to Skills award, recognised Blackpool’s dedication to workforce development and training. The judges commented that Dennis Eagle was a ‘very worthy winner’ bringing skills, learning and development to life with its staff testimonial videos. In addition, the judges could see ‘the business has excellent recruitment and onboarding with strong HR processes and staff retention.’

“With a significant skills shortage in areas such as welding and painting, Dennis Eagle is proactively addressing this issue, right here in Lancashire, by heavily investing in apprenticeship schemes,” says plant manager, Oliver Minett. “It means people of all ages have the opportunity to gain paid, hands-on experience while pursuing formal qualifications. Alongside the framework we have in place for training and developing employees, this award recognises the environment we have created where individuals can grow and feel valued.”

Not content with just one award, the Lancashire team went on to secure the Collaboration award for its work with various partners on an educational programme designed to teach children about the benefits of recycling. ‘Dennis to the Rescue’ is an innovative mobile classroom created to bring the world of waste management and recycling to life, directly engaging schools and community groups. Here, the judges were wowed by an ‘exceptional presentation’ and the innovative approach to make a significant impact on the next generation. They loved how collaboration was inbuilt especially teaching young children about the importance of waste and recycling, saying ‘it was truly brilliant to see how the waste lorry visiting schools is educating young people about sustainability in such a fun and engaging way’.

Dennis Eagle's Blackpool team collecting the Red Rose Commitment to Skills Award

Working closely with Enveco, a Local Authority Trading Company that collects waste on behalf of Blackpool Council, the mobile classroom scheme encourages families to have positive discussions about recycling at home, driving real behavioural change.

“Winning a Red Rose Award is a huge accomplishment, so to win two is a phenomenal achievement and a highly proud moment for the 90-strong passionate team in Blackpool,” says Ketna Mistry, Senior digital marketing executive at Dennis Eagle, who supported the submissions. “After accepting our entry, we underwent a rigorous verification stage before advancing to the final judging process at Burnley Football Club. Facing a panel of independent judges who carefully evaluated us, it was an intense process—but that makes winning even sweeter!”

It has been a period of significant transformation and growth for the Blackpool site. Recent developments include a new paint booth to boost capacity on the Finishing Line, a new digital warehouse infrastructure, and the installation of 440 solar panels—now supplying 65 per cent of the site’s electricity.