Feb/March 2020

Industry News
HACKITT URGES
MANUFACTURERS TO
IMPROVE STANDARDS
Dame Judith Hackitt (pictured below), chair
of the transition board to establish the new
Building Safety Regulator, has called on
construction materials manufacturers to
improve their standards, processes and
digital toolkit, describing product testing,
marketing, labelling and approval
processes as “flawed, unreliable
and behind the times”.
Speaking at the NBS
Construction Product
Leaders’ Summit,
Hackitt expressed her
frustration with the
lack of progress since
the Grenfell Tower fire and
underlined that forthcoming regulation
would be robust and lead to a radical change
in culture and processes. As a result, it will
directly impact the construction product
materials supply chain. Manufacturers
will have to provide data and performance
accreditation, use standardised systems
and take a more collaborative approach,
including adopting a transparent attitude to
data sharing. Digital will be the norm, so the
sector can expect to see less substitution,
and ‘value engineering’ will move from being
about cost reduction to focus on quality.
Product stewardship will lie at the heart of
this new approach.
Hackitt concluded: “This is a once in a
generation opportunity to leave the race
to the bottom behind and change industry
practice for good.”
Richard Waterhouse, CEO, NBS, said: “It is clear
manufacturers, specifiers and construction
firms must act now and get their houses in
order, otherwise they will not be able to do
business. Very soon, digital will be as essential
to a build as bricks and mortar are today.”
THIS YEAR’S FIT SHOW CANCELLED
Organisers of the FIT Show have cancelled
this year’s event (2020) following ‘continuing
unprecedented political and economic
uncertainty’. The show will revert to a biennial
format from 2021.
Nickie West, FIT Show event director, said: “The
conditions that prompted the announcement of a
FIT Show in 2020 have all changed, even since we
made the announcement at the 2019 event.
“We have listened to the many active voices in the
FIT Show community and will return the event to its
most popular frequency, and everything that has
made it a success. It is with huge disappointment,
and with a genuine desire to preserve the longterm
success of FIT Show for the entire industry,
that we have made this decision.”
The organisers report that support for 2021
continues to be, very positive. “Where companies
have been unable to commit to 2020, they have
confirmed they will be a part of 2021. We can now
pursue that enthusiasm and focus on delivering a
fantastic FIT Show next year,” added Nickie.
Aluminium building systems manufacturer, AluK,
was among the voices of support for the 2021 FIT
Show, reserving a prime 175m 2 stand.
Veka UK’s Dave Jones has announced that
he will be retiring as MD of the systems
manufacturer after 26 years with the company.
Dave (pictured, right) will be stepping down from
the role at the end of December 2020, with the
process to recruit a successor already underway.
He said: “I’ve enjoyed a fantastic and fulfilling
career at Veka Burnley, first as operations
manager, then operations director before spending
the last 13 years as managing director.
“My working life spans almost 44 years to this
point and I feel that now is the right time to step
down as Veka UK’s managing director and hand
over the leadership of the business.
AluK’s Sioned Roberts feels it’s important for systems
companies to show their support for FIT Show 2021,
following the cancellation of this year’s event.
Marketing director, Sioned Roberts, says that AluK
is firmly behind the organisers’ decision to revert
to a two-yearly format and felt it was important for
systems companies like AluK to line up in support
of the show: “The FIT Show is important for the
whole industry – whether that’s presenting new
products, networking, learning or just exploring
new opportunities. It’s definitely been an important
element in AluK’s growth in the trade market
over recent years, and we want to see it go from
strength to strength.”
The next FIT Show will take place from
25-27 May 2021, at the NEC Birmingham.
JONES TO STEP DOWN AS VEKA MD
“Both the global Veka
Group and Veka UK have
been through many
changes over the years
and playing a small part
in the company’s ongoing
success story has been a great
honour. I count myself very lucky to have been
part of the Veka journey and to have worked
with such excellent and dedicated people. I am
immensely proud of our achievements together.
“I know that whoever takes over as managing
director in 2021 will steer the business on a path
of continued success. And in the meantime, it’s
business as usual!”
6 TF FEB/MAR 2020 CONNECTING THE WINDOW, DOOR & ROOF FABRICATION SUPPLY CHAIN