Refrigeration engineer Paul Davis from JS Refrigeration has been announced as the winner of a Rothenberger press fitting tool worth £1,400.

Brymec's challenge entailed a series of one-on-one competitions during the show to establish which visitor to the company's stand was most adept at using the innovative Conex Bänninger press fitting, >B< MaxiPro, and its specialist jointing tool from Rothenberger.

Mr Davis had never used the press fitting system before, although he had heard of it through friends at college. He said: “All I have heard is good things. I think this tool is absolutely brilliant. I watched the video, and the way the joint was pressure tested and the fact that it was piping hot was amazing, so I have no doubt that it offers a proper airtight fitting.

“And the fact that you don't need hot work permits when using this system is a real plus. It typically takes a long time to get a permit and once you've done the hot works, you have to stand there for an hour and make sure nothing ignites due to the residual heat. It's a real pain.

“Considering that I'd never used the system before, the user-friendliness of the machine is absolutely spot-on; it does the job really well.”

To win the competition, Mr Davis produced the fastest crimp over the three days of the show by cutting a copper pipe, deburring it, preparing the pipe surface with a wire wool pad and re-joining the pipe with two joints on each side.