Industry NewsHACKITT URGESMANUFACTURERS TOIMPROVE STANDARDSDame Judith Hackitt (pictured below), chairof the transition board to establish the newBuilding Safety Regulator, has called onconstruction materials manufacturers toimprove their standards, processes anddigital toolkit, describing product testing,marketing, labelling and approvalprocesses as “flawed, unreliableand behind the times”.Speaking at the NBSConstruction ProductLeaders’ Summit,Hackitt expressed herfrustration with thelack of progress sincethe Grenfell Tower fire andunderlined that forthcoming regulationwould be robust and lead to a radical changein culture and processes. As a result, it willdirectly impact the construction productmaterials supply chain. Manufacturerswill have to provide data and performanceaccreditation, use standardised systemsand take a more collaborative approach,including adopting a transparent attitude todata sharing. Digital will be the norm, so thesector can expect to see less substitution,and ‘value engineering’ will move from beingabout cost reduction to focus on quality.Product stewardship will lie at the heart ofthis new approach.Hackitt concluded: “This is a once in ageneration opportunity to leave the raceto the bottom behind and change industrypractice for good.”Richard Waterhouse, CEO, NBS, said: “It is clearmanufacturers, specifiers and constructionfirms must act now and get their houses inorder, otherwise they will not be able to dobusiness. Very soon, digital will be as essentialto a build as bricks and mortar are today.”THIS YEAR’S FIT SHOW CANCELLEDOrganisers of the FIT Show have cancelledthis year’s event (2020) following ‘continuingunprecedented political and economicuncertainty’. The show will revert to a biennialformat from 2021.Nickie West, FIT Show event director, said: “Theconditions that prompted the announcement of aFIT Show in 2020 have all changed, even since wemade the announcement at the 2019 event.“We have listened to the many active voices in theFIT Show community and will return the event to itsmost popular frequency, and everything that hasmade it a success. It is with huge disappointment,and with a genuine desire to preserve the longtermsuccess of FIT Show for the entire industry,that we have made this decision.”The organisers report that support for 2021continues to be, very positive. “Where companieshave been unable to commit to 2020, they haveconfirmed they will be a part of 2021. We can nowpursue that enthusiasm and focus on delivering afantastic FIT Show next year,” added Nickie.Aluminium building systems manufacturer, AluK,was among the voices of support for the 2021 FITShow, reserving a prime 175m 2 stand.Veka UK’s Dave Jones has announced thathe will be retiring as MD of the systemsmanufacturer after 26 years with the company.Dave (pictured, right) will be stepping down fromthe role at the end of December 2020, with theprocess to recruit a successor already underway.He said: “I’ve enjoyed a fantastic and fulfillingcareer at Veka Burnley, first as operationsmanager, then operations director before spendingthe last 13 years as managing director.“My working life spans almost 44 years to thispoint and I feel that now is the right time to stepdown as Veka UK’s managing director and handover the leadership of the business.AluK’s Sioned Roberts feels it’s important for systemscompanies to show their support for FIT Show 2021,following the cancellation of this year’s event.Marketing director, Sioned Roberts, says that AluKis firmly behind the organisers’ decision to revertto a two-yearly format and felt it was important forsystems companies like AluK to line up in supportof the show: “The FIT Show is important for thewhole industry – whether that’s presenting newproducts, networking, learning or just exploringnew opportunities. It’s definitely been an importantelement in AluK’s growth in the trade marketover recent years, and we want to see it go fromstrength to strength.”The next FIT Show will take place from25-27 May 2021, at the NEC Birmingham.JONES TO STEP DOWN AS VEKA MD“Both the global VekaGroup and Veka UK havebeen through manychanges over the yearsand playing a small partin the company’s ongoingsuccess story has been a greathonour. I count myself very lucky to have beenpart of the Veka journey and to have workedwith such excellent and dedicated people. I amimmensely proud of our achievements together.“I know that whoever takes over as managingdirector in 2021 will steer the business on a pathof continued success. And in the meantime, it’sbusiness as usual!”6 TF FEB/MAR 2020 CONNECTING THE WINDOW, DOOR & ROOF FABRICATION SUPPLY CHAIN
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