Lion CEO Sam Fischer, HPA’s National Sales Manager Michael Capaldo and Lion’s Chief Supply Chain Officer Mauricio Ferreira.

Leading brewer Lion welcomed guests from supply companies based in Australia and New Zealand to the Establishment Ballroom in Sydney on Thursday April 20, for its annual Supplier Recognition Awards.

The category awards – across packaging, ingredients, logistics, engineering services and site services – recognise those suppliers who have performed the best in terms of delivery performance, quality, customer service and feedback.

Attending his first Supplier of the Year Awards since joining Lion last year, Lion Group CEO Sam Fischer paid tribute to Lion’s suppliers and the strong relationships that underpin the company’s Trans-Tasman operations.

“Our partnerships with suppliers are absolutely vital to our ability to brew and transport our products to pubs, bars, bottleshops and fridges in every corner of Australia and New Zealand,” Fischer said.

“This is an opportunity for us to come together and celebrate strong and enduring partnerships, while also looking forward to opportunities to grow together into the future.”

This year’s Supplier of the Year Award was rewarded to Hop Products Australia (HPA) – Australia’s leading hop grower and a valued, long-term partner of the Lion Group.

Lion Chief Supply Chain Officer, Mauricio Ferreira, said: “HPA’s commitment to delivering and maintaining the highest standard of products for use by Lion emanates through the brewery process and helps set our products apart in market.

“We are grateful to all of our suppliers for the support of their incredible teams of experts and their partnership, particularly through the disruption of the past three years, and look forward to continuing our work together in the next growth phase of Lion’s journey.”

For the first time, Lion’s Supplier of the Year Awards also recognised indigenous, women-owned or social enterprise suppliers through the inaugural Diverse Supplier Award, which was awarded to Gforce – a social enterprise based in Geelong which supplies temporary forklift drivers to Lion’s Little Creatures brewery in Geelong.

Full list of nominees and award winners:

Award: Packaging (ANZ)
Winner: Labelmakers Group Pty Ltd

Award: Ingredients (ANZ)
Winner: Hop Products Australia

Award: Logistics (ANZ)
Winner: Booths Logistics Ltd

Award: Engineering (ANZ)
Winner: Krones Pacific

Award: Site Services (ANZ)
Winner: Ecolab (Pest Elimination)

Award: Diverse Supplier Award (ANZ)
Winner: Gforce Corporate And Finance Pty Ltd

Award: Innovation & Sustainability Award (ANZ)
Winner: Visy Glass Operations Pty Ltd

Award: Supplier of the Year (ANZ)
Winner: Hop Products Australia