Southerns are named as the winner of the Bolton and Bury Best Environmental Best Practices Award 2007. The company was short listed as a finalist in the Best Environmental Practices section, a new award that is developed to recognise the efforts companies have put into the environmental practices that operate within its everyday operations.

In a glitzy award ceremony the management was thrilled to be named as the category winner, particularly as the competition in the group was of an equally high standard.

We would like to thank all of the congratulations that were received from many quarters, and have great pride in being a successful and progressive member in the thriving North Manchester business community.

New Committee Suite Order gained.

Southerns are pleased to announce that we have been named as the supplier of furniture to the prestigious Salford Council Committee Suite Quarters.

The aim is to provide a quality boardroom table, with integrated cable management facilities that will offer modern communication within the Council Quarters and will be complimented with seating to match. The Committee Suite itself will provide the new seating for public meetings that are held and can also be used for training seminars that are required by the Council. A breakout area is included to complete the upgrade of the entire facility.

Southerns has recently completed a major refurbishment project for Ashton 6th Form College. This has comprised of 4 new buildings over the past 6 years and includes full services from I.T. Training, Lab Suites, Library and a brand new tutor base.

The products selected by the College has upgraded the facilities to a very high standard, much of which is from Europe, bringing a truly stunning result.

In January 2007, Southerns were awarded the University Of Manchester New Arthur Lewis Building's furniture contract.

Contemporary design and careful product selection has helped to win this tender and the company is pleased to win this exciting and prestigious scheme located in the centre of Manchester.

The departments that will occupy the building will move from their current premises to the new building that offers over 200 individual offices glazed with coloured panels along with open areas that will be complemented by a welcoming atrium that allows natural light to be utilised to the maximum.

The product selection and colour choices were in alignment with the building design. Over 900 bookcases and additional high density storage managed the existing requirements, the impact of this was managed by supplying products in White to compliment the White designer interior.

The building has been completed within the agreed 20 business day installation period and the users can enjoy the fantastic results that are plain to see.

The project brief was to complete the entire scheme, consisting of 13 new buildings and 4 Divisional Headquarters, within a specified 18 month period.

This project is one of the largest of its type that we are aware of in the UK. We needed to accommodate over 4000 occupants and the tolerance for delivery installation failure was zero.

The scheme is now complete and is the culmination of over 4 years of hard graft and careful planning. The success has been attributed to the partnerships developed internally and also between the client (Equion FM), the user GMP and our manufacturers. A strong team approach from all has been the key to success here.

The Police were able to occupy all buildings and the team managed many late change requests from the end user's without compromising the completion dates.

Southerns have demonstrated the capability to be able to undertake this massive project and the management extend their thanks to all participants and contributors to fantastic achievement.

Southerns received another award for the most innovative product at the Staffordshire University supplier exhibition. This award followed a busy and informative days exhibition at the University that was attended by many interested parties. The smart top desk was featured, amongst other products, and was voted by the visitors to the exhibition as the most innovative product at the exhibition.

Southerns are named as an official office furniture contractor to the North West University Purchasing Consortium (NWUPC). The contract provides furniture to all of the members within the consortium and compliments existing contracts that are being serviced.

Members of the consortium can look forward to the same high levels of service that are enjoyed by the North East University Consortium.