THE FABRICATOR

Editor John Roper
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The Fabricator Vol11No12
ISSN: 1752-2145
www.thefabricator.pro
Copyright ©2015 Profinder Ltd.
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THE FABRICATOR
Comment
Once again time to wish you all ahappy Christmas and aprosperous
new year –which, from what Iread, may well be on the cards.
This time last year I noted that the economy seemed to be
recovering. And it has not been abad 2015 at all. We have certainly
found things quite buoyant. As far as next year is concerned whilst
Palmer is not optimistic about the domestic sector his recent report
on construction predicts growth through to 2019 of as much as 20%.
Maybe you PVC fabricators should spend the break sharpening your
saws and ordering in the aluminium.
Next year we do have the FIT show tolook forward to. Once again
at Telford itwill be moving to the NEC from 2017. Personally Ihave
never liked the NEC.Itisexpensiveand, unless the FIT organisers have
done some stiff negotiating, that includes the very inconvenient car
parking arrangements. Even exhibitors can find themselves pushed out
into the far reaches of the north car park. Not ideal for someone
carrying heavy samples, boxes ofliterature orunwieldy displays.Whilst
in the beginning Telford was greeted with agreat deal of doubt Ihave
to say itwas pretty convenient parking for free right in front of the
exhibition hall. Perhaps the move signifies growth and is asign of
success: we shall see.
With document Qnow under our belts we have to wait to see what
new regulation might await us in the coming year. Iwas at the Roto
international press conference last month. Roto was, for the second
year, trying to get the press behind acampaign totackle, what is
apparently, arising tide of burglary inGermany. At dinner on the final
evening there was apanel discussion between Roto technical people
and trade press editors. Coming from the land of Secured by Design
PAS24and nowDocument Q, Iconfessed myself puzzled by the whole
thing. Iasked the person sitting next to me what it was all about. Sabine
Schneider is astaff journalist on Baumaster aGerman architectural
magazine.She told me that the German householder is highly focussed
on energy efficiency and not very concerned about security.
Irather think that the opposite is true here inthe UK.Triple glazing
has really not taken off, the government has dropped the idea of zero
carbon housing, following several years of cranking down Uvalues
approved document Lseems to have gone into remission and, happily,
the Green Deal has died adeath. On the other hand with Secured by
Design the police have involved themselves indomestic security –
something Roto would love to achieve –and building regulations are
incorporating PAS24, originallyadoor security standard, into windows
and everyone is falling over themselves to comply.
2
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On the other hand Irecently heard aninterview with an 'expert'
who reckoned that, because of climate change, wewould be doing
away with gas as an energy source in the future.When the interviewer
asked “What about domestic boilers?” there was no clear answer.
Look out for the regulations; no one can accuse the bureaucrats who
dream up this stuff of thinking things through. In The Island Race
Churchill wrote that after the Romans left, for hundreds of years the
British were 'cold and unwashed'.
Have ahappy Christmas –and here's to 2016.
John Roper
The Fabricator 2015