Antony Grace, Managing Director of ASH Integrated Services, has been named Skills & Talent Champion at the 2026 Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce Excellence Awards.
The awards brought businesses and individuals from across all ten Greater Manchester boroughs together at Manchester Central.
Recognising achievement across a wide range of sectors, business sizes and specialisms.
The award recognises years of commitment to apprenticeships, training and developing people across the mechanical and electrical industry.
He admitted he went into the awards without expecting to win.
No Expectations
Antony said:
“I deliberately went in with no expectations because I didn’t want to build myself up and come away disappointed. When they called my name I was absolutely thrilled.
“I’ve never invested the time I have because I thought there was something in it for me financially. I’ve done it because I want this business to still be here in the future.
“We need skilled people coming through. We need to give younger people opportunities. It’s vital to keep developing the people already working in the industry and pass that knowledge on.
“If businesses like ours don’t invest in that now, we’re only storing up a much bigger problem for later.
“So to have that work recognised across Greater Manchester means a lot to me.”
Skills development has become a big part of ASH Integrated Services as the business has grown, with continued investment in apprenticeships, formal qualifications and wider development across the workforce.
For Antony, that investment is closely tied to the long-term future of both the business and the wider industry.
Business strength in Wigan
It was also a strong afternoon for Wigan. Businesses from the area sat together and celebrated one another’s success as the awards were announced.
Atherton-based Kane International, a client of ASH Integrated Services, was named Medium Business of the Year, while Ince-based DASCO Construction collected both the Growth Award and Large Business of the Year.
Launch NW was also at the table, having reached the final of the Micro Business of the Year category.
Antony added:
“It was a brilliant afternoon for Wigan businesses.
“We were all sat together, so every time someone from Wigan was called up there was a real sense that we were all celebrating it.
“Kane are a client of ours, so I was genuinely made up to see them win Medium Business of the Year, and Scott and the team at DASCO had a fantastic result with two major awards.
“Launch were there as finalists too, so there was a really strong Wigan presence around that table.
“There were some seriously good businesses in the room, so for Wigan companies to come away with four of the 16 awards between them was something to be proud of.”
For Antony, the Skills & Talent Champion title is recognition of something he sees as fundamental to the future of ASH.
A business can only keep growing if the skills are there to support it.
That means investing in people now, giving them opportunities to develop and making sure the knowledge the industry needs are still there for the next generation.
If you’re looking for a forward-thinking M&E partner with the skills, experience and people to support your building long term, talk to ASH Integrated Services.
