Ballymena-based bus manufacturing giant Wrightbus has scooped two awards in two days at ceremonies honouring the best in business after a record-breaking year.
Wrightbus was one of the headline winners at the 2025 Business Eye Sustainability & ESG Awards, where it was named Sustainable Company of the Year in the Medium-Large category.
The award was presented at a black-tie event at the Culloden Estate & Spa in front of a business audience of more than 300 guests.
It also scooped the Manufacturer of the Year (Over 25M) award at the InsiderMedia Made In Northern Ireland Awards, which were held at Titanic Belfast. It has now been put forward as a finalist in the overall UK awards, which will be held in June.
Wrightbus was recognised as the outstanding manufacturer in Northern Ireland by the InsiderMedia award judges thanks to a landmark 1,000-bus deal that was signed last year with Go-Ahead that was worth up to half-a-billion pounds.
Wrightbus CEO, Jean-Marc Gales, said the awards were a testament to the dedication and hard work of everyone at the business.
“For Wrightbus to be recognised with not just one but two awards in two days is a fantastic reflection on the business and our staff,” he said.
“Our landmark deal with Go-Ahead was a great boost not only to our business, but to the wider UK manufacturing economy and the InsiderMedia Made In Northern Ireland award reflects this.
“As Europe’s leading zero-emission bus manufacturer, it was particularly pleasing to be recognised as the Sustainable Company of the Year in our category. Our vehicles have prevented more than 85,180 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere over approximately 5,490,000 miles from the roads and, as a business, we are committed to achieving our own net-zero targets by 2050 – and preferably earlier – by reducing our energy consumption and maximising efficiencies throughout our manufacturing processes.”
Wrightbus, which was recently named as the fastest growing bus manufacturer in Europe, employs more than 2,300 people and is set to produce a record number of 1,200 buses this year from its factory in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. It expects to support 7,200 UK supply chain jobs by 2027.
