August 2018

Industry News
NORTHERN LIGHTS SHINE BRIGHT AT APPRENTICE AWARD FINALS!
Jay Webster and Kieran Forster, two apprentices
from the north of England, have been crowned
Redland and Icopal Apprentices of the Year 2018
respectively, after the BMI-backed competition
culminated in two days of intense scrutiny from
a panel of industry-leading figures.
At a special gala dinner, the victors received a
£1,000 cash prize for each of them to invest in
their future, a handsome trophy for the
mantelpiece plus a goody bag of high-quality
roofing tools and materials. They are also entitled
to support from the two industry brand leaders at
BMI’s National Training Centre.
Speaking just after the prize-giving (June 27th),
Redland Apprentice of the Year Jay Webster, who
attends Leeds College of Building and works for
Yorkshire Heritage Roofing; said: “Words can’t
really describe how I feel and I still can’t believe it
to be honest. I became more confident as the
competition went on but to actually win it tells me
I’m better than I thought I was.”
Kieran Forster, the Icopal Apprentice of the Year,
an attendee at Newcastle College and employed
by Stanley-based Hodgson Sayers, admitted it all
came as a bit of a surprise: “Pure shock when I
heard my name announced and I’m still in shock.
I can’t believe it’s actually happened. There were
guys there with more experience than me so to
win it is simply amazing!”
So tightly fought were the two competitions that
the judges felt that each category deserved a
highly commended award. On the Redland side,
ex-soldier Tom Thompson, who works for AL King
Roofing and studies at South West Training Group,
received the accolade, while for Icopal it was Joe
Burgess, a former waiter, who came out with the
memorable phrase during his presentation: “I
gave up a job to go into a career”, when talking
about his move into roofing. Joe works for
Waveney District Council and is enrolled at
Eastern Region Roof Training Group.
Mat Woodyatt, BMI Technical Training Manager,
commented: “This has been a fantastic event –
the first time we have held a competition to find
the best in both roofing disciplines: pitched and
flat. All 18 contestants deserve huge credit for
their hard work and achievements over the last 48
hours. I know the judges looked long and hard at
the scoring, deliberated at length about what
marks to award and genuinely found it difficult to
separate participants. However, in the end there
can only be two winners, so heartfelt
congratulations to Jay and Kieran. Well done all!”
See p.30 for more on the Apprentice of the Year.
SPRA’S ‘MOST COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE’
The Single Ply Roofing
Association has announced
the release of its latest
Design Guide. Available to
download free from the
SPRA website, this
detailed and updated
guide is said to be a
fantastic resource
developed to support the
whole of the single ply
roofing industry from
design and specification, SPRA’s new Single Ply Design Guide.
Component Quality Standards
which have in many cases
been developed with partner
organisations. Also included is
the SPRA Homeowner Guide
and SPRA Damage Protection
guidance which was created
last year, along with a useful
Toolbox talk section to
encourage education onsite
and reduce post-installation
issues. Perhaps something of
particular interest in the
to installation and aftercare.
Cathie Clarke, SPRA CEO, explained: “This is the
most comprehensive guide on single ply roofing
that SPRA has ever produced. It has been created
by the SPRA Technical Committee for the benefit
of the industry and I would like to thank all
members for their hard work and contribution to
the sector. Complete with new Welding Guidance,
the SPRA Design Guide includes a range of
current climate is the SPRA Membrane Product
Substitution Checklist.”
SPRA says all members have the opportunity to
be involved with the SPRA Technical Committee –
“the beating heart of SPRA”. For more
information, email enquiries@spra.co.uk.
Interested in becoming a member? Full details
can be found at www.spra.co.uk, or you can
email: membership@spra.co.uk.
TRADE CLUB BENEFITS
SIG Roofing is celebrating a key milestone
for its TRADE CLUB loyalty programme after
Roofcare South West became the 2,000th
company to benefit from the scheme.
SIG Roofing’s TRADE CLUB was introduced
to help and reward roofing contractors
across the UK, giving them the opportunity
to earn points and secure discounts by
purchasing roofing products from any of
SIG Roofing’s 120+ branches nationwide.
Stuart Base, Marketing Director for SIG
Roofing, said: “We introduced our TRADE
CLUB programme to reward our
customers for their ongoing loyalty and to
enhance their customer experience. This
is all about giving something back.
Loyalty cards can be used at any of our
branches and with access to the largest
network in the UK, it means contractors
can earn points wherever they are
working across the country.”
12 TC AUGUST 2018