Celebrating Our Award-Winning Team and the Importance of Raising Standards in Ventilation Hygiene

The HVR Awards 2025 was a night to remember, full of laughter, celebration, and a strong sense of pride as the industry came together to honour excellence in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning.

Team Ductbusters at the HVR Awards

Team Ductbusters had plenty to celebrate. We’re proud to share that Tom Hodgkins took home the Sales Excellence Award, and Liam Lilley received an Honourable Mention for Rising Star.

To even be shortlisted in four categories was an incredible achievement, but seeing our team recognised on stage reminded us why we do what we do: to raise standards, develop people, and keep the nation breathing clean air.

Leading with Excellence: Tom’s Sales Award

Tom’s Sales Excellence Award celebrates more than performance. It recognises his leadership, expertise, and impact across one of our most complex national contracts.

For the past four years, Tom has managed a multi-site preventative maintenance (PPM) programme covering more than 300 sites across the UK. His work ensures each location meets the highest standards of air hygiene, safety, and compliance, delivering critical services that directly protect public health and wellbeing.

Tom Winning Sales Excellence at the HVR Awards 2025

Tom’s team oversees four core Ductbusters services: kitchen extract cleaning, fire damper testing, ductwork cleaning, and TR19 inspections. What sets Tom apart is his ability to connect technical performance with client confidence. His proactive communication and planning help clients understand the long-term value of preventative maintenance, reducing system failures, improving air quality, and keeping essential spaces safe and operational.

Working closely with our Health & Safety Manager, Jon Hogg, Tom ensures every site remains TR19 compliant, fostering a partnership built on trust, results, and reliability. This award isn’t just about sales; it’s about leadership through service, proving that when we put quality and compliance first, growth naturally follows.

Shaping the Future: Liam’s Rising Star Recognition

At just 25 years old, Liam has built a career that embodies Ductbusters’ values of learning, development, and progress. Starting as an Operative at 17, he’s now our Training and Competence Manager, responsible for developing field engineers and office staff alike.

Liam and Tom with their awards

Liam’s journey, from Apprentice to Manager, mirrors the future we’re working to build: one where competence and opportunity go hand in hand. His Level 6 NVQ Diploma in Construction Contracting Operations Management, equivalent to a bachelor’s degree, demonstrates his commitment to professionalism and growth. He’s now training to become a certified Assessor, helping raise standards across the wider industry, not just within our own business.

Liam’s Honourable Mention for Rising Star recognises that leadership isn’t just about seniority; it’s about passion, mentorship, and making a measurable difference in people’s lives.

Why These Ventilation Awards Matter

For us, award nights like the HVRs are more than celebrations, they’re a reflection of the purpose behind our services. Every kitchen extract clean, fire damper test, and ductwork inspection plays a role in something much bigger: protecting public health, preventing fire risks, ensuring system longevity and efficiency, and keeping indoor environments safe and compliant.

Our clients rely on us to maintain air systems in schools, hospitals, government buildings, and commercial spaces across the UK. But our mission goes further than maintenance; we’re helping shape the future of the ventilation hygiene industry through training, collaboration, and advocacy.

Raising Industry Standards, Together

Ductbusters’ leadership team continues to play an active role in shaping national standards. Both Jon Hogg and Hayley Exley sit on BESA committees that review and evolve the National Occupational Standards (NOS) the framework guiding training and qualification in our sector.

We’re helping ensure that future engineers are not only competent and compliant but trained to reflect the real-world needs of clients and buildings. From Tom’s nationwide PPM management to Liam’s mentorship of new engineers, everything we do links back to the same goal: raising standards, together.

The Heart of Ductbusters

Behind every award, there’s a team, and ours is full of heart. Our Engineers, Administrators, and Managers are the driving force behind our success. Their dedication keeps thousands of systems clean, compliant, and safe every year.

The HVR Award

We’re proud of the people who make Ductbusters more than just a ventilation hygiene contractor, they make us a partner in public safety, a mentor for the next generation, and a leader in our industry’s future.

And while there may have been more time spent on the dancefloor than at the dinner table, but as we work hard, we play hard!

Here’s to More Clean Air and Raised Standards in 2025

As we move into our 30th year, we’re more committed than ever to driving excellence in ventilation hygiene through preventative maintenance, professional development, and industry collaboration.

Here’s to another year of clean air, proud partnerships, and plenty more reasons to celebrate in 2025.