TWO local companies tasted success at a glittering awards evening in Manchester.

Bolton and Bury Chamber and Bellhouse Hartwell & Co at Westhoughton were both winners in North West Excellence Awards 2000.

There were whoops of delight from both groups when broadcaster Felicity Goodey announced their names at the £75-a-head dinner in the Palace Hotel attended by 600 people.

Aircraft engineers Bellhouse Hartwell of Lower Leigh Road were joint winners with Simon Jersey Ltd of Accrington in the category for private sector companies employing more than 250 people.

And the Chamber shared success in the category for companies with fewer than 250 employees with Corning Cable Systems of Whiston, Merseyside.

Excellence North West, which is based in Lower Bridgeman Street, Bolton, has been organising the awards for six years.

Applicants are assessed vigorously through the European Excellence Model devised by the European Foundation for Quality Management.

It looks at leadership, people management, policy and strategy, partnerships and resources, processes, customer satisfaction, people satisfaction, society and business results.

The victory was a sweet one for Bolton and Bury Chamber -- the Bolton-based organisation formed through a merger of the old Chamber of Commerce and the Bolton Bury Training and Enterprise Council.

It will cease to exist in its current form next March when many of its functions will be transferred to two new government organisations -- the Learning and Skills Council and the Small Business Service.

Felicity Goodey told diners that it was the first time a Chamber had won a quality award and quoted the assessors' verdict -- "The organisation is dynamically led and managed and is a superb example to the business community of what can be achieved through people and the pursuit of excellence."

Chief Executive Richard Bindless and Alan Edwards, Head of Business Improvement, were presented with the award by guest speaker Phil Smith, Business Development Director with CISCO UK.

The Chamber's application was organised by Mr Edwards and Business Improvement Manager Craig Maher.

Mr Bindless managed to get to the microphone -- no thankyou speeches were planned -- and say: "I want to thank my chairman, my board and my staff."

Later, as he and chairman Richard Hurst celebrated with staff, Mr Bindless said: "We have had a very tough year and I think we have coped very well with the great changes which have taken place.

"I am very grateful to them."

Bellhouse Hartwell, which is part of Hampson Industries PLC, is a major supplier to aircraft manufacturers such as BAe Systems.

It manufactures, repairs and overhauls fabricated commercial and military aircraft parts.

The assessors' report read: "The management team has demonstrated its commitment to business excellence.

"The key business results show impressive trends built on strong customer relationships and the empowerment of the workforce."

Other winners on the night included: Benefits Agency -- Greater Manchester Directorate, PowerGen UK plc, BASF Coatings Ltd, TypeTalk (RNID), Vista Optics Ltd, British Energy -- Heysham 1 Power Station, Barclays Services Provision, Runshaw College, Neste Chemicals (UK) Ltd and NSK-RHP Bearings.