Clearview National November 2016 - Issue 180 | Page 24

INDUSTRYNEWS

A return to local building products?
»»WITH IMPORTED BUILDING
products becoming more expensive in the
aftermath of Brexit, it’s no wonder that some
experts have predicted a rise in construction costs
by up to 12%. But as imports are becoming less
competitive, could some British manufacturers
profit from it? Andrew Scott, MD of marketing
agency Purplex, looks at the numbers.
“We believe there will be a strong favourable
trend in the domestic market towards building
products manufactured locally over the next
couple of years,” said Andrew.
According to the Building Materials and
Components Statistic published by the Office for
National Statistics, last year electrical wires were
both the most imported building products – with
a total value of £1.55billion, as well as the most
exported, accounting for £684million. One of
the main reasons is that products manufactured
in Britain are often a higher grade or quality and
therefore more expensive than what the local
construction market requires or is willing to pay.
Timber window frames are another example,
as Andrew explains: “We have a strong tradition

Managing Director
Andrew Scott

of manufacturing them in the UK, but many
constructors prefer imports from countries
like Poland, although they accept that the
arrangement comes with some disadvantages. At
the same time, British joineries will export their
production to other markets at higher prices – a
recent study by Barclays shows that the ‘Made
in Britain’ label commands premium rates
overseas, and we believe that trend will continue
undeterred.

“But with cost gaps between imports/
exports closing, the UK construction market
will turn its attention more firmly to what the
local manufacturing sector has to offer. This is
an excellent opportunity for building product
companies to grasp more market share through
effective branding and positioning,” added
Andrew.
“Obviously many British building product
manufacturers import their raw materials and
components, which has already pushed some
of them to roll out price hikes after the Brexit
announcement. However in the longer term we
will potentially see them bringing more stages of
their production back in the UK, and sourcing
their components more locally,” said Andrew.
He concluded: “A big part of what we do at
Purplex, as marketing experts for the construction
industry and the building products sector, is to
spot market trends and changes in demand and
supply, and strategically use this information to
increase our clients’ commercial advantage.”
www.purplexmarketing.com

LEADING ADOPTION OF DRONE TECH
»»DRONES ARE HELPING UK
business’ profits soar, with an estimated half a
million using them for commercial purposes
- and construction firms are amongst those
leading the way.
A study of 3,045 UK adults by
DronesDirect.co.uk, one of the UK’s leading
drones e-tailers, published in ‘The UK Drone
Usage Report 2016’, reveals that 586,430
Britons have used drones for commercial
purposes.
The construction industry (17%) is amongst
those leading the adoption of this type of
technology, utilizing drones to scope out work
and monitor projects.
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are
being put to work in an increasing number
of commercial situations, such as filming,
surveying landscapes, and product delivery.
The media industry (63%) is leading
the uptake of their use – most commonly
using them for taking aerial photography or
videography.
Facilities management firms (39%) ranked
in second place for commercial drone usage,

24 » N OV 2016 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M

with Mitie having recently unveiled plans to
use drones for accessing problems such as pest
control in high rise buildings.
Surveillance (32%) is amongst the most
common commercial uses of drones, following
photography. More than one in five (21%)
is using a drone for security purposes in the
workplace.
Delivery is anticipated to be the largest area
of growth for commercial drone usage ahead
of the launch of Amazon’s Prime Air parcel
delivery service, and plans by Royal Mail and
DHL to do similar.
The UK is a popular base for developing
and testing commercial applications of UAVs.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has
also recently relaxed several of the current
regulations surrounding UK drone usage for
commercial trials, in response to requests from
Amazon to trial its Prime Air delivery service,
including the operation of vehicles without
direct line of sight and the uses of anticollision technology.
Tim Morley, Category Manager at
DronesDirect.co.uk, said, “It’s great to see

construction businesses incorporating drones
into their day-to-day practices to make
processes simpler and more efficient.
“The recent change in CAA regulations
shows they are open to working with
businesses to identify how best these exciting
technologies can be applied, encouraging
drone usage within a commercial
environment, to bring an array of new
benefits to consumers and businesses. We
anticipate even more businesses using drones
following the recent change in rules from the
CAA.”