Motor Transport Awards roars back to life as 1,000 guests once again gather in London's West End

Wren Kitchens was the big winner at the 2021 Motor Transport Awards last night walking off with no fewer than five trophies - a feat previously matched only by DPD.

Expect Distribution took the blue riband Haulier of the Year award for the third time and the second year in a row - something never achieved before - after a year in which one of our 50 independent judges said Expect had "demonstrated they have grown significantly as a business and recognised that their people are at the heart of everything they do".

MD Neil Rushworth said: "We’re immensely proud to have won this award three times, It’s very difficult to describe how that feels. We’re a family business and this is the culmination of it."

DPD picked up two more awards including Customer Care for the sixth time in seven years to take their total haul to a record-breaking 36 trophies.

Nottingham City Council flew the flag for local authority fleets by taking the Clean Fleet Van Operator of the Year award while electric vehicle specialist Zedify won Urban Delivery Operator of the Year.

An innovative mobile electric vehicle recharger secured the Best Use of Technology Award for the RAC in partnership with Original ADS and Renault's full-electric ZE range took the Technical Excellence Award. The DAF  XF again won Fleet Truck of the Year in the year the long-running vehicle was replaced with the next generation line up.

Don-Bur founder Donald Burton received a standing ovation as he collected the Service to Industrty Award.

After a short break, the MT Awards were presented live in front of 1,000 people at London's prestigious Grosvenor House Hotel by Alexander Armstrong and Carol Vorderman.

See MT 6 September issue and the awards website for a full list of the 2021 winners.