Shanghai, 21st November 2013 On Thursday evening the Benelux Chamber of Commerce (BenCham) Shanghai hosted the second edition of the Best of BenCham at the Grand Hyatt in Shanghai. The Awards Gala Dinner was celebrated with three different business awards which were given to successful Benelux companies in China. With almost 250 guests, representing the Chinese and Benelux business community, the evening turned out to be an even bigger success than last year.

The Best of BenCham, hosted by inspiring and dynamic MC Nancy Pon - General Manager of Touch Events - turned the spotlights on successful Benelux companies in China with three different business award categories. The finalists for each category were announced two weeks prior to the Awards Gala Dinner, and during the evening the winners were finally revealed.

The evening started with the BenCham Personality of the Year Award, which was given to Mr. Edwin van der Sar, former goalkeeper of the Dutch national football team and current Marketing Director for AFC Ajax. In cooperation with Everton FC, AFC Ajax organized a campaign in China called ‘Football Dream’: a show in which both football teams worked together on discovering new Chinese football talent. During the Awards Gala Dinner Van der Sar thanked the audience in Shanghai with a personal video message.

The first business award, the ‘De Wolf & Partners Starter of the Year Award’ was handed out to Link Design, a Dutch creative design company with both offices in Amsterdam and Shanghai. In the short time they have been active in Shanghai, Link Design has shown strong presence in China and according to the jury they show great growth potential.

Following, the ‘AkzoNobel CSR Award’ was given to Bugaboo, a Dutch mobility company which primarily produces baby strollers. According to the jury, Bugaboo is a company that tries to go beyond just ticking all the boxes of the CSR checklist, and that’s exactly why they won.

Finally, the ‘KBC Company of the Year Award’ went to Recticel, a Belgian manufacturer of polyurethane foam products, concentrating on the automotive industry in China. Recticel believes its success lies in the self-developed “plant-in-plant” market entry principle. They state: “Where our customers move to, we move with them”.

The Best of BenCham turned out to be a festive evening where both the established and the ambitious got together and forged long-lasting business relations. Mariska Kiewiet de Jonge, General Manager at BenCham Shanghai, was very satisfied: ‘It’s so inspiring and fascinating to see that Shanghai still offers so many business opportunities. The evening turned out to be an even bigger success than we expected and shows great potential for the years to come.’

For more about the Best of BenCham 2013, please visit our website.

Media contacts: 
Els De Vos 
Marketing Executive 
Tel: +86 (21) 3220 0573 
Email: Marketing-sh@bencham.org

Sanne van Deudekom 
Best of BenCham Projects Assistant 
Tel: +86 (21) 3220 0573
Email: Awards@bencham.org

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