Take one look at a Maylarch operator in action and you soon realise why training is so important. Clad from head to foot in a protective suit, each worker is dealing with hazardous substances.

This is not a job for the faint-hearted, but thanks to the training every specialist receives, the company has flourished as demand for its services has grown steadily.

And at the Oxfordshire Business Awards its commitment to training was rewarded as it claimed the Champion Recruitment Customer and Staff Care category.

Marketing and bid manager Rachel Williams said: “We are heavily committed to training — we always have been and we felt when we entered the award that it would be good to have this recognised.”

Maylarch specialises in asbestos removal, site surveying, demolition and site clearance and the nature of dealing with such potentially hazardous materials means training is vital and comprehensive as a result.

The company also offers apprenticeships every year and the investment has paid off with many of the senior staff now having risen through the ranks over the course of many years with the company.

The Eynsham-based company, which was founded in 1984, has grown significantly and now employs 43 staff.

Last year it founded a new division, Maylarch Recycling, which, as the name suggests, offers clients a comprehensive service in disposing of all kinds of materials and equipment.

Ms Williams said: “Companies can either sign up for total waste management or for one-off collections of hazardous waste, electrical equipment, or pretty much anything. We will find a route for all of it.”

Wherever possible Maylarch will divert such waste from landfill either by ensuring it is recycles or even re-used through the Headington-based charity Orinoco, or the Retrader scheme operated by Oxfordshire County Council.

Little wonder then that it has entered the Oxfordshire Business Awards again this year, this time in the Locus/Oxfordshire County Council Sustainability category, which it previously won in 2008, while it has also entered the Champion Recruitment Training and Staff Care category as it looks to clock up two trophies in a row.

In fact, Maylarch is a firm believer in awards and last November surprised its industry by claiming the training category of the World Demolition Awards 2010 in Amsterdam.

Managing director Nick Williamson said: “This award would not have been possible without the hard work of all of our staff across all sites and, along with our recent Customer and staff Care Award, it is fantastic recognition of our level of commitment to training and development as well as the growth and success we have achieved.”

Clearly Maylarch see awards as being an important part of their marketing and development, as well as recruitment.

Ms Williams added: “For us it is a way of rewarding our staff and to say that despite the economy, we are a strong company that wants good people to work with.

“We are always looking for highly qualified people with specific skills who are from the local area as it is good for the economy. Awards are also a way of registering with clients that we are not standing still. If you consistently win, people will have more confidence in you and that brings in more business.”

The last year has also seen Maylarch open an office in Cheltenham to meet demand from a growing client-base in that area, identified after the company commissioned market research from Oxford Brookes University.

Contact: 01865 883829 Web: www.maylarch.co.uk