New Training Opportunities as Membership Rises
April 2015

According to the Construction Products Association Trade Survey for Q1, 2015 manufacturers reported a rise in sales for the 8th consecutive quarter. UK Growth was recorded at 2.8% in 2014, with stronger consumer spending and business investment, driving expansion in the housing and commercial construction sectors.

Reflecting concern over the availability of skilled workers, wages and salaries were the key driver of cost inflation reported by product manufacturers in Q1. There were also noticeable downward pressures on costs with the strong exchange rate lowering import cost and the decrease in the global oil price reducing fuel and energy costs.

Increasing Demand for Training
While we await the breakdown of the CAB Quarter 1 Survey results we are certainly aware of member companies increasing their staff numbers to meet rising demand. As an Association we see this leading to an increase in demand for training which will include areas such as Health & Safety and also Contractual Awareness.

The recent CAB Contractual Awareness Seminar in Huddersfield was well attended by fabricators and considered ‘20 Contractual Nightmares’  which created considerable discussion with presenter, Geraldine Fleming, Executive Director, Knowles able to resolve a number of member queries and also suggest new and improved internal processes for companies to be better prepared in the future. The Seminar also lead to ideas and suggestions for further training and a particularly popular choice was to create an all-day training module which considered pre-contract and post-contract issues for a company’s staff. The event now booked for Wednesday 10 June 2015 at the Grimstock Country House Hotel, Birmingham will therefore focus on a morning programme of issues such as ‘revising Terms and Conditions’ and ‘Securing the Contract’ and be relevant to internal staff such as estimators while the afternoon session will consider post contract management which will focus on ‘essential commercial knowledge for site managers’.

Members welcomed the opportunity to be able to bring the pre and post contract team together to highlight best practise and share concerns with an expert from a global leader in construction disputes.
If you are interested in more details on this training day please contact me at justin.ratcliffe@c-a-b.org.uk     

From Major Brands to Start Ups
The development of CAB’s activity programme and added value for membership has helped to drive up membership in 2015 across the aluminium in building supply chain.

We are delighted to have welcomed 2 new start-up companies in AW Louvers & Ventilation and Paul Evans Architectural at one end of the spectrum and at the other a number of already large and well-known brand names including: Axalta Powder Coating Systems, Granada Glazing, Hoppe (UK), STAC, HUECK UK and Guardian Industries (Glass Division). Crucially these companies are becoming actively involved in CAB’s 2015 programme, whether it be training seminars, Regional Meetings, technical committees or marketing forums. 

We look forward to welcoming more brands from across the supply chain into membership and for further details please contact Julie Harley at the CAB Office on 01453 828851 or email julie.harley@c-a-b.org.uk