Ten Volkswagen dealer group employees have been awarded Golden Pin awards to recognise their “exceptional contribution”.

Awarded by Volkswagen AG, the gold pin was first presented in 1967, but only 1,200 people have received one.

The ceremony was held in London and hosted by UK director Alison Jones, head of operations Rod McLeod and head of service and parts Kevin Rendell.

Among the recipients was Malcolm Ingram, who joined Volkswagen as an apprentice mechanic in 1985 and eventually became managing director of Ingram Motoring Group in 2010.

David Lloyd has provided excellent customer service and for being the top salesperson at Hayselden Barnsley Volkswagen for 15 years.

Tim Lavender, of JCT600 Sheffield, was awarded for working on over 50,000 Volkswagen vehicles without a single return to the workshop.

Andy Marshall from Warrington Volkswagen was recognised for the time he spends with each customer and for taking an active role in bringing new team members on board.

In the Sutton Coldfield Volkswagen business for 29 years, John Reddin received a gold pin for selling more than 6,000 cars and for embracing the brand’s award-winning Blended Retail technology.

Noreen Coid, at Walkingshaw Volkswagen, was recognised for building trust and rapport with customers, and Nick Wells for helping Alan Day Hampstead to feature in both the top 20 Volkswagen Retailers and the top three for customer satisfaction for the past three years.

The 10th gold pin was presented to Kevin Rendell, who has been with Volkswagen Group for 25 years and started his career as an apprentice at Caffyns.

He is now head of service and parts at Volkswagen UK’s head office in Milton Keynes.

Gold Pin 2017 winners:

  1. Malcolm Ingram: Managing director of Ingram Motoring Group
  2. David Lloyd: Sales manager at Hayselden Barnsley Volkswagen
  3. Tim Lavender: Master technician at JCT 600 Sheffield
  4. Andy Marshall: Business manager at Warrington Volkswagen
  5. John Reddin: Sales executive at Sutton Coldfield
  6. Noreen Coid: Service reception manager at Walkingshaw Volkswagen
  7. Nick Wells: Brand manager at Alan Day Hampstead
  8. Ian Purdie: Brand manager at Western Volkswagen (Edinburgh East)
  9. Lee Mitchell: Aftersales manager at Sinclair Volkswagen Cardiff
  10. Kevin Rendell: Head of dervice and parts at Volkswagen UK

Picture: 2017 VW gold win winners