A PIONEERING Malpas company is celebrating after landing one of the highest possible accolades.

JPCS in Hampton Heath, which maintains the highways and byways of Britain and was behind the installation of ground mounted solar panels, has received a UK Excellence Award from the British Quality Foundation.

Despite hundreds of entries since the awards were set up in 1994, only 45 organisations have been recognised meaning JPCS will now take its place alongside household names such as Siemens and Virgin Trains.

The firm was established in 1993 by managing director Peter Shone and has grown into a £10m turnover business working with clients such as Balfour Beatty, the Highways Agency, British Gas, Carillion and Eurovia, as well as local authorities.

Mr Shone said: “The fact that so few awards are handed out each year makes this especially satisfying.

“It really is a feather in our cap. Quite simply, this is one of the highest accolades any organisation can achieve.

“People don’t really give much thought to how much wear and tear our highways receive.

“The fact is companies like JPCS are out there day in day out maintaining, resurfacing and patching holes to ensure the UK’s travel infrastructure keeps functioning.

“You could say we help maintain the arteries through which the country’s lifeblood flows.”

Mr Shone is particularly proud of JPCS’s approach to solving challenging problems.

He said: “Two years ago, for instance, we knew that local authorities were under pressure to reduce spend on highways maintenance so we launched Rejuvopatch, a totally unique pothole patching material which provides a really effective solution but cuts the costs associated with more traditional methods.

“Then last year we launched Safethaw, a unique de-icing system for pavements and footpaths.”

For more information visit www.jpcs.co.uk.