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PRO NEWS
DECEMBER 2016 PRO INSTALLER
www . proinstaller . co . uk
Don ’ t let the winter weather affect your bottom line any more than it has to
COUNCILS MUST BORROW FOR NEW HOMES
Allowing local authorities to borrow to build homes could help tackle the housing crisis and mitigate any emerging economic uncertainty , according to the Federation of Master Builders ( FMB ).
Brian Berry , chief executive of the FMB , said : ‘ The Autumn statement presented an opportunity for the new chancellor to think creatively about how to address the country ’ s growing housing crisis . We simply aren ’ t building enough new homes to meet current demand , which is why we ’ re calling for the chancellor to empower local authorities to borrow money to build thousands of new social homes .” He continued : “ The government clearly recognises the extent of the housing crisis we face and has signalled its willingness to bring forward a wide-ranging package of measures to tackle this , many of which we expect to see in a forthcoming White Paper . Nevertheless , the gap between the number of homes we are building and the 250,000 a year figure widely accepted to be necessary in order to address the housing shortfall remains significant .
“ Local authorities , who are well placed to identify local housing needs , can play a critical role in financing an increase in housing output in a safe and sensible way . We currently spend £ 1 on house building for roughly every £ 4 spent on housing benefit . Investing in a longer term solution would therefore make sense even in more certain economic conditions .” He concluded : “ At a time of political and economic uncertainty , a sensible programme of investment like this could both significantly boost housing output and provide a welcome shot in the arm to a sector that is still jittery over its prospects for the next few years . The construction industry is amongst the first major areas of the economy to be affected during an economic downturn and even a minor dip in confidence could be disastrous for the government , if it is to meet its target of one million new homes by 2020 .”
www . fmb . org . uk
For many installers , the onset of winter means an increase in callouts as a result of failing hardware . Zinc and aluminium-based hardware will start to fail sooner or later because the damp weather we experience in winter speeds up the corrosion process , resulting in disappointed customers , callouts and replacements that are costly to your bottom line . But rather than accept corrosion as a fact of life , the Trojan Group ’ s Stainless Steel door hardware range offers a corrosion-free solution and comes with an impressive 25-year anti-corrosion and 10-year mechanical guarantee as standard . Tony Chadwick , Trojan ’ s Group Managing Director says , “ Failing hardware as a result of corrosion was becoming an increasing problem in the industry . Returning to replace hardware has a direct effect on an installer ’ s bottom line , so needs to be avoided wherever possible . Our Stainless Steel hardware solves the problem because of its corrosion-resistant properties . It seems that more and more of our customers are seeing the benefits of our Stainless Steel range for themselves as sales continue to increase rapidly and costly call outs are becoming a thing of the past .” Trojan ’ s Stainless Steel range includes door handles , letterplates , door knockers , door numbers / letters , escutcheons , T-bar pull handle variants and a central door knob . Products are available in
National awards success
Polished Gold ( PVD ), Brushed Gold ( PVD ), Polished Stainless , Brushed Stainless and White or Black powder coated over stainless , offering a perfectly suited solution . So if you want to reduce the headache of callouts due to failing hardware this winter , the Trojan Stainless Steel hardware range has the answer .
www . trojangroup . com
Almeda Facilities Ltd – who have been a Purplex client for two years – has seen its managing director Brady George scoop the highly sought after Institute of Directors ( IoD ) national award for leadership in corporate responsibility .
He won the award after winning the South West regional heat ; and to win at the national level is seen as a huge achievement , as he was competing against Directors from across the UK . In addition to this , Newview Windows and Doors is up for Business of the Year at the Sussex Business Awards ; with the Consumer Protection Association also in the running for best midrange marketing campaign at the Construction Marketing Awards ( CMAs ). The latter award is for its ‘ together stronger ’ campaign which was
fronted by its mascot ‘ Sumo Yuki ’ and his wife ‘ Akiko ’. Jeremy Brett , Director at the CPA , comments : “ The award we are up for celebrates the brightest and best from across the construction industry so I ’ m delighted to be nominated . Purplex put the entry together and also came up with the campaign idea , which has seen us win new clients and significantly build our brand .” Sam Cross , Account Director at Purplex , comments : “ Winning an award boosts a businesses ’ brand greatly and catapults them above their competition . Here at Purplex we work hard to ensure our clients get recognised on merit , at the UK ’ s most prestigious awards . So much so we have a dedicated department that focuses solely on putting together high-quality winning entries .”
www . purplexmarketing . com