Latest CBA Newsletter - Concrete Block Association

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Welcome Cover image - Alan Peters and Andy Littler at ECOBUILD Chairman’s report Andy Littler Chairman and CBA Update Editor Welcome to my fourth attempt to give you the members a summary of what is happening and important to our businesses, this time for 2013. Please take time to peruse some important articles, in particular the revised, “reasons for selecting concrete blocks”, which should be given to all sales and technical staff, posted on the walls of sales and distribution offices and used as training materials for new starters. Other vital reading is Gerry Pettit’s advice on CE Marking and the Concrete Centre briefing note on perceptions on timber sustainability. The state we are in - Better times ahead? 2013 was a brutal year for our industry, there is no other way to describe it. A triumvirate of the inability of people to borrow, in Grant Shapps one of the most ineffective and dissembling housing ministers to date and a record wet year combined to see housing starts fall to a low of only 89,000 in England. I quote England because that is where members sell most of their blocks – add about 15% for Wales and Scotland combined to get a mainland UK figure. Looking at what has happened since 2007 this represents a halving of new starts from 6 years ago. (See table below) According to BIS aggregate block sales have now flat lined for 3 and a half years at c. 36 million m 2 of which 39% are in the lightweight category. BIS records similar Commodity BIS Index 2010 average Concrete blocks, bricks, tiles and flags sales for 2012 compared to 2011. I would put the figure closer to a 5% fall from 2011 to 2012. The discrepancy is probably due to BIS overstating the October, November and December 2012 figures, all of which are still estimates as I write. BIS records aircrete sales as falling 6% 2011 to 2012, this will presumably be further exacerbated as Quarter 4 figures are adjusted to actuals. There continues a small but steady move from aircrete to aggregate. CBA continues to represent over two thirds of all block manufacturing in the UK with Tarmac Building Products and Lignacite sadly still noticeably absent. I continue to invite them to join, along with all other block manufacturers. The association would be richer for not only their subs but also their marketing and technical input. Year Housing starts - England Completions - England 2012 89,000 111,400 2011 110,300 116,000 2010 103,300 103,200 2009 79,400 118,500 2008 98,900 143,500 2007 178,300 176,100 BIS Index Dec 2012 % change 120.8 127.6 +5.6% Cement 133.5 144.1 +7.9% Aggregates 119.1 118. 2 -0.8% Fabricated steel 123.9 124.8 +0.9% Gas oil 99.4 128.1 +28.9% Electricity 166.2 177.7 +6.9% Natural Gas 123.7 159.1 +28.6% And for easy reference during the same period. CPI 114.5 125.0 +9.2% RPI 223.6 256.8 +14.8% Market shares amongst block producers are changing with independents making headway. Following cessation of operations at their Ford, Bristol and Durham factories and the effective closure of half of the flagship Hilton Main site Tarmac BP have probably fallen from over a fifth share in 2007/8 to about an eighth today. They remain for sale. Prices for blocks compared to block making raw materials continue, in the main, to move in the wrong direction as shown above. Note that cement has increased in price by 8% at the same time as gas and gas oil have moved forward 29%, a potential argument for reducing curing times or temperatures at the expense of increased cement content. When all economic indicators are factored in most commentators would forecast block sales as improving only marginally in 2013, BDS Marketing for instance predict +2%. Despite a terrible weather affected start I am more bullish. The combined effects of Funding for Lending , First Buy and some government stimulus to social housing should start to increase housing starts. I am sticking with my bullish January Newsletter forecast of a 6 to 7% increase. 2 www.cba-blocks.org.uk
Raising The Bar and concrete block sustainability credentials Raising the bar is a BPCF initiative to visibly improve the safety and environmental performance of precast concrete. If you are starting to turn off at this point think money instead – companies with good records on safety and environmental performance are better run and more profitable – trust me. Through records submitted to BPCF we now have a really good handle on some tangible measured key performance indicators, (kpi’s and apologies for the jargon) representing over 60% of blocks manufactured in the UK. Let us have a look at some of these and take heart at how good some of the figures already are. (Shown right) Due to the nature of manufacturing and the comparatively low product strengths blocks are one of the lowest generators of waste and the lowest category in energy usage for precast concrete. For instance tonne for tonne aircrete uses 10 times as much energy in manufacture, a figure subsequently reduced to 3 to 5 times per equivalent volume. However we could do better and what these stats give to manufacturers – that’s you – are targets to aim at and beat. If a factory’s combined energy was 50% greater than the average shown above then someone should be asking why. It should be possible to target some reductions by the end of 2014, in particular :- kWhrs per tonne of product to sub 20 through investment in energy monitoring and clearly set out and followed work systems Alternative cements as a % of all cements to 25% through experimentation and investment in silo capacity Secondary aggregates as a % of all aggregates to 25%, this is currently probably an upper limit due to limited availability Litres of mains water per tonne of product to 35, by stopping leakage, wastage and by rainwater harvesting If your company has yet to fully sign up to Raising The Bar, (and it is a BPCF requirement in 2013), then I would urge you to do so. Once your figures are calculated you can compare performance against the industry standard. If you do not have the information then your performance may be Good, Bad or even – Ugly. REAP KPI Description Energy and emissions Cement content Aggregate content Packaging Water Waste Electricity and fuels Through CBA I am participating in the catchily titled Resource Efficency Action Programme For Concrete Products And Clay Bricks. This WRAP funded initiative aims to cut waste and use resources such as energy, aggregates and packaging more effectively amongst other things. The stats above will be invaluable in progressing this programme. Units quoted Fabric First Concrete block manufacture kWhr/tonne of product 21.2 Kgs CO 2 /tonne of product using conversion factors Total tonnes all cements/ tonne of product Alternative cements as % of all cementitious materials Tonnes of all aggregates per tonne of product Secondary aggregate as % of all aggregates Kgs all packaging/tonne of product Litres mains water per tonne of product Total waste kgs/tonne of product Waste to landfill (%) of total waste Waste to landfill (kgs/tonne of product) Combined energy from all fuels and electricity all converted automatically via the input spreadsheet in to kWhrs/tonne of product 6.0 0.089 19.3% 0.884 23.8% 1.47 39.4 19.21 0.56% 0.11 21.24 I attended a conference organised by the timber frame and SIPs, (self insulated panels) industry recently. As always I was present to put the case for masonry across and was able to do that both via questions from the floor and by talking to delegates. In practice the conference was more about promoting energy efficient building fabric at the expense of so called “Ecobling”, solar panels, wind turbines, wind cowls, heat pumps, wood chip boilers and the like. It was clear that actually all makers of construction materials are facing similar challenges in pursuit of lower energy operating cost and lower carbon emitting buildings. Continued www.cba-blocks.org.uk 3
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