Pro Installer December 2016 - Issue 45 | Page 12

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PRO NEWS

DECEMBER 2016 PRO INSTALLER
www . proinstaller . co . uk

BREXIT BRITAIN NEED NOT MEAN HIGHER COSTS

You ’ ve almost certainly had the letters land on your desk . Often starting with : “ Due to weakness of the pound following Brexit ,” they typically include words and phrases such as “ it is with regret ” and “ absolutely necessary ” in an attempt to soften the ultimate message that prices are going up . However , Whizzle Ltd , the UK independent sealant and ZZR ® fabrication screw distributor , is arguing that a post Brexit Britain doesn ’ t have to be a higher cost Britain . The company ’ s marketing manager Jenny Read explained how
Whizzle ’ s approach was fighting to keep pricing at pre Brexit levels . “ It ’ s not just exchange rates that are driving prices upwards , it ’ s also the desire of suppliers to pass on everyday operational cost increases to maintain ‘ business as usual .’ But the world is changing . Frankly , customers are not interested in supplier overheads or internal systems and processes , just the quality of product , value and service they receive . “ And there has never been more choice . At Whizzle we ’ ve looked internally and doubled our efforts to remove unnecessary waste from our operations meaning we can absorb a reasonable level of
exchange rate driven price increases . We ’ ve also been expanding our approved manufacturer base over the last few years and this encourages healthy competition in our supply chain . “ Finally , Whizzle has adopted a policy of product substitution recommendations to our customers where we believe better value exists . In all these areas we are genuinely acting in the interests of customers by letting them get on with running their business without the stress of excessive price increases or the need to consider alternative suppliers .”
www . whizzle . it

LIVELY INTEREST IN CONSTRUCTION WEEK 2017

UK Construction Week has received a high number of re-bookings for the 2017 event , following this year ’ s successful second year at the NEC in Birmingham .
Some of the companies confirmed so far include Festool , Easy- Trim , Theben AG , White Haus , ForgeFix , Ecovolt , Combilift Ltd , and Creagh Concrete . Figures for UK Construction Week 2016 showed the event attracted more than 30,000 trade visitors and over 650 exhibitors . Featuring nine shows under one roof , the event began with eight strictly trade shows running for three days : Build Show , Timber Expo , Civils Expo , the Surface and Materials Show , Energy 2016 , Plant & Machinery Live , HVAC 2016 and Smart Buildings 2016 . Then , overlapping the last two trade days , Grand Designs Live offered a crossover
experience between trade and public . Visitors were from across the full spectrum of the construction industry – from tradespeople , self-builders and SME owners to architects , civil engineers , national house builders and interior designers . Organised by Media 10 , the show featured more than 165 hours of seminar content from 100 plus speakers . In total there were 13 different seminar theatres at the event with the main stage being hosted by television presenter and architect George Clarke , business journalist Steph McGovern and television broadcaster and business journalist Victoria Fritz across the three days .
The week in October also hosted a raft of major new product launches from leading industry companies such as CEMEX , Easy-Trim Roofing and Construction Products , Condair , Cotherm , Instant Upright Ltd , OX Group UK , Irwin Tools , Banbury and SAVANT .
Returning to the Birmingham NEC , the dates for UK Construction Week 2017 are set for 10th to 12th October . For more information , visit www . ukconstructionweek . com or follow @ UK _ CW on Twitter .

Positive Outlook

Andy Swift , national sales manager of ISO-CHEMIE , is optimistic that the UK foam sealants market in 2017 will see growth despite cost pressures and uncertainty in the wake of Brexit . While trading conditions are always challenging , the outlook for the next 12 months is ‘ very promising ’, says Andy Swift . “ New products such as our thermal insulating and load bearing bracket system WINFRAMER and the advanced foils to replace EPDM type seals are seen to be at the forefront of simple
yet effective solutions for sealing windows and doors against the elements . “ They are gaining increasing traction among architects and specifiers , who see the benefits as intuitive solutions to air loss and poor energy efficient current methods .
“ This is also backed up by the introduction of expanding foam tapes included for the first time in the British Standard BS8213-4:2016 . “ This is an upward move to ensure that a window is energy rated around the frame as well as the frame itself .”
email a . swift @ iso-chemie . co . uk