18 | DECEMBER 2019
News
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
“THE VOICE OF THE GOVERNMENT FOR THE INDUSTRY”
The Glass and Glazing Federation since its very foundations
has always aspired to be the voice to Government for the
industry. This has been proven time and again over the
last four decades, as the GGF worked with Government
departments on Building Regulations, formed certification
schemes at the Government’s request and through to
lobbying for greater energy efficiency initiatives.
Having witnessed and
played my part in Govern-
ment talks when the GGF
was asked to help regulate
the installation sector and
set up FENSA, the industry’s
original and main competent
person scheme, it comes as no
surprise that the Government
has granted the GGF £50k to
prepare the industry for the
impact of Brexit.
It is easy for some trade
bodies to claim to be “the
voice of the industry”. Howev-
er, to have a justifiable claim
to that title involves not just
having a substantial num-
ber of member companies,
but more importantly, such
an organisation must have
the scope and breadth of
member companies and long
term commitment from those
companies to develop political
campaigns. The GGF, fortu-
nately has such quality and,
additionally, the loyalty of the
best companies throughout
the entire supply chain. It’s an
enviable but earned position.
At present, I am a member
of the GGF’s Political Strat-
egy Committee. It’s made
up of elected Members from
the following sectors; manu-
facturing, processing, home
improvement and installation.
Being on that Committee, I see
first-hand all the political work
the GGF undertakes and the
challenges we face. Not just
GGF members but the entire
industry.
The GGF’s political activity
includes, meeting and engag-
ing with Government depart-
ments, taking part in debates
in parliament, engaging with
MPs, attending All Party
Parliamentary Groups (on
Fire Safety, Energy Efficiency,
Training, Skills and much more)
and responding to Government
consultations. It’s a consider-
able output, requiring expert
knowledge, great energy, drive
and passion.
For many years, the GGF
has also built a strong net-
work in the political arena.
This has resulted in pro-
ductive relationships and
alliances with like-minded
trade organisations such as
The British Energy Efficiency
Federation (BEEF), National
Home Improvement Council
(NHIC), Construction Products
Association CPA), Federation
of Master Builders (FMB) and
many more.
The GGF political work is
also very well channelled.
For over 20 years they have
worked with Dods – the lead-
ing political monitoring and
communications company. In
the last 10 years, the GGF has
also employed GK Strategy, a
political advisory and strategic
political communications firm
with far reaching and in-depth
knowledge of the political
world. Working with these
expert companies has proved
fruitful raising the profile, cov-
erage and awareness of the
GGF brand.
With Brexit on the horizon,
the GGF is clearly putting the
Government funding to good
use. An impressive new GGF
Brexit Hub has been created
- a micro-site housing latest
news, key information, updates
and guidance on areas such
as technical standards, policy
and legislation changes, free-
dom of movement of people
and goods. The GGF has also
issued special online newslet-
ters, created web advertising
and implemented social media
and search engine marketing
to complement the campaign.
In addition, I understand that
the GGF has mailed thou-
sands of companies a 16-page
guidance brochure on Brexit.
With all this activity, com-
bined with the GGF’s political
planning and long-standing
reputation representing the
industry, the Government’s
recent confidence in the GGF,
only highlights the Federa-
tion’s position as the voice of
the industry to Government.
I’m delighted to be helping to
write that story.
Greg O’Donoghue
ICOTHERM,
5 YEARS ON…
Icotherm Roof Sys-
tems has reached the five-
year milestone, a feat for a
company that started with
just three people.
Originally only supply-
ing what is now known as
the Icoroof – our standard
pitched roof, Icotherm now
also offers solid roof op-
tions to suit all needs and
tastes: Ico600, low pitch
solution with a unique
contemporary roof cover-
ing, Icoview, our very own
hybrid roof and Icospan,
the flat roof option, ideal
for orangeries.
Our success has not
come to us on a plate,
comments Anne-Marie
Busch, Marketing Manager.
We have invested heavily
both in design and testing
to ensure our roof systems
perform efficiently, both
thermally and structurally.
Our complete range of
roofs is building control
compliant to make the
installer and the homeown-
er’s life easier.
2019 has seen the
introduction of high-qual-
ity POS material support,
with a brand-new lifestyle
brochure and hand-out,
fantastic imagery, all to
‘
We are proud to say that
our customer base is one
that values quality and
performance, which allows
them to sell true added value
’
support our efforts to repo-
sition our brand image to
be more appealing to the
homeowner market.
We are proud to say that
our customer base is one
that values quality and
performance, which allows
them to sell true added
value, and that our efforts
are attracting the attention
of strong retail names.
In 2020 we will carry
on with this effort, and
bring yet more POS
material, a new website,
and maybe a thing or
two that we cannot yet
mention…
www.icotherm.co.uk