The 2009 National Business Awards took place on Thursday, 30 July at the Wanderers Ballroom in Johannesburg.

Richard Fletcher, Topco Media’s Chairman, said: “During these tough economic times, the awards afford all those in business to sit back and applaud those who have achieved great things in the past year; to network and catch up with familiar faces; and most importantly – enjoy themselves.”

Topco Media would like to congratulate the following winners:
*Investing in People Award: The Kelly Group; *CSI/SED Award: Nedbank Ltd;
*Logistics Award: Barloworld Logistics;
*Innovation Through Technology Award: Integr8 IT;
*Customer Service Award: Bonitas Medical Fund; *Marketing Excellence Award: SA Tourism;
*Alt-X National Business Award: BSI Steel;
*Top Government Department or Agency Service Award: AIDC;
*Entrepreneur of the Year: Lance Fanaroff - Integr8 Group;
*National Businesswoman of the Year: Nomahlubi Simamane - Zanusi Brand Solutions;
*National Businessman of the Year: Richard Maponya - Maponya Motors Property Holdings (Pty) Ltd; and
*National Business of the Year Award: The Kelly Group.

The event, in association with Topco Media’s South Africa’s Top Performing Companies publication and South Africa’s Top 500 Companies, were first introduced by Topco Media in 2002 to recognise and honour the top performers of the year in both industry and commerce, for individuals and companies. The results of Topco Media’s research into leading corporate and public sector performance levels are published in South Africa’s Top Performing Companies. This includes the winners of the National Business Awards as well as names and contact details of over 3 000 companies and public entities, many of which elect to further showcase their achievements and their value propositions in the publication.

This year’s award ceremony was sold out in terms of table sales, and was well-attended by South Africa’s leading industry and government leaders. For further information about the winners and the event, please contact Hullabaloo PR on 083 239 5133.