We’ve come out on top at the 2021 Gas Industry Awards by winning four times in three categories.
The Gas Industry Awards is organised by the Institution of Gas Engineers & Managers (IGEM) and the Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA). It celebrates the very best people, projects and companies in the UK gas industry and was postponed in 2020 because of the pandemic.
It has taken quite a while for us to find out the results, but it’s been worth the wait. SGN, and our colleagues in SGN Natural Gas, have been recognised for four prestigious honours at a virtual ceremony on Tuesday.
David Butler and David Rae
Engineer of the Year – David Rae and David Butler – joint winners
Project Manager David Rae and Director of SGN Natural Gas David Butler, were joint winners in the Engineer of the Year category.
David Rae is a Civil Engineer with almost thirty years’ engineering experience. He recently completed the hugely complex Erskine Bridge Pipeline Replacement project which cost £2 million and involved the construction of an almost 2km long pipeline under the River Clyde.
David R said: “It was the most technical challenge I’ve ever faced and to deliver it successfully was incredibly rewarding. To get this recognition from the industry is truly amazing, but I couldn’t have done it without a hardworking and dedicated team behind me."
David Butler won for his prior role as Head of Engineering during the creation of the SGN Natural Gas network in the west of Northern Ireland. This was a complex engineering project involving 78km of High-Pressure pipeline.
David B said: “I am thrilled to be named ‘Engineer of the Year’ and this award is shared with the entire team at SGN Natural Gas; I couldn’t have done it without them. Having worked on the project from the outset, it is fantastic to receive this recognition from the judges and celebrate it with my colleagues and the wider SGN family.”
Danny O'Malley
Leadership award – Danny O’Malley
Danny O’Malley was selected as winner of the distinguished ‘Leadership Award’ for leading on the delivery of the SGN Natural Gas network as Director for the first five years of the project. The award citation said he had supported the need to address fuel poverty as well as an affordable decarbonised future for commercial and domestic users.
Danny, who is currently Group Head of Transmission has worked in the gas industry for 32 years. He told us: “I was hugely grateful when my MD John Lobban gave me the opportunity to head up the new SGN Natural Gas business as its first employee back in 2015.
“The IGEM award is extremely flattering and I believe it highlights and reflects extremely positively on the commitment, hard work and dedication of the whole team in Lurgan that have since built the business into one of the most respected brands in Northern Ireland’s energy industry.”
Product of the Year – C55 Copperleaf technology – in collaboration with Northern Gas Networks (NGN) and National Grid Transmission
Our fourth award was for the Product of the Year – C55 Copperleaf. The technology provides decision analytics to companies managing critical infrastructure. We’ve been using it, as have NGN and National Grid, to help inform and improve our investment decision-making capabilities.
Neil Atkinson, CEO of IGEM, congratulated the winners: “We are delighted that after the hardships and stresses of 2020, we are able to finally celebrate the incredible contribution these people, projects and companies have made to the gas industry.
“Now more than ever, the UK engineering sector must rely on its ingenuity, its resilience and its innovative spirit. We are proud to be supporting the industrious individuals and organisations that are sure to be at the heart of the UK’s recovery.”
