6
MAY 2014 PRO INSTALLER
PRO NEWS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
‘Overall Winner’ Award
M And M Windows
Cements Thistle’s Success Go Bigger And
Better!
As the ‘Best Overall Winner’ and
‘Best in the Region’ Awards went to
Thistle Windows and Conservatories
at last year’s Network VEKA AGM,
the Thistle team were both humbled
and overjoyed at the accolades.
“With these awards based on direct feedback of our customer satisfaction questionnaires to Network VEKA, it gives us a
clear, accurate picture of how well we are
meeting the high standards of service our
customers expect, and deserve. It truly represents all the hard work and tireless effort
of the team, so was a great achievement,”
MD Ian Bruce explains.
“To us, the most significant benefit of our
membership is the peace of mind it gives
our customers.
“The Network VEKA Customer Charter
provides a promise to our customers that
we have been vetted for financial stability –
something now more important than ever,
and our sales representatives, surveyors and
installers are all trained to the strict standards that Network VEKA demands.”
Despite a challenging economic climate,
Thistle increased customers by over 30% in
2013.
Wigan-based VEKA
fabricator M and M
Windows is moving
to a new factory on
the town’s Little Lane,
Gooses Green.
‘The position of
the building, close
to the busy A49,
was a big selling
point for us’
Nick Robson & Ian Bruce.
Network VEKA, 01282 473170,
www.networkveka.co.uk
With more space and a
more prominent position
from which to be seen by
potential customers, the
M and M eam is optimistic
about the opportunities the
move will bring.
MD Colin McCoy explains:
“We’re happy to be going
into a larger production
space which gives us the
possibility of expanding and
potentially employing more
staff in the future.
“The important thing
is that we now own the
building rather than renting,
which means we have a
greater level of stability and
control..
“The position of the building, close to the busy A49,
was a big selling point for
us as it has the potential to
be seen by lots of passing
trade.
“Working with an industry-leading company like
VEKA has helped us ride
out the recession, and now
we’re looking forward to
growing even stronger from
our new premises.”
VEKA plc, 01282 716611,
www.vekauk.com
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
FEELS LET DOWN BY
GOVERNMENT
Despite Chancellor George Osborne’s budget pledge to ‘get Britain building’, a survey conducted by the
Build Show has revealed that nearly three quarters of the UK’s construction industry feels let down by the
government, with 71% of builders and contractors claiming they do not feel supported by Whitehall policy.
Lack of investment in
the sector, coupled with
low consumer confidence and the absence
of positive changes
in the economy were
among the criticisms
levelled at government
by the survey respondents. The restrictive
VAT system was also
cited as a major challenge, with more than
71% of respondents
stating they are worried
about the cost of VAT
on building materials.
Keeping up to date with
changing legislation was
highlighted as another
problem area, with 60% of
respondents pointing to
crippling red tape and reg-
ulatory compliance as a serious concern. Other issues
brought up by the survey
include the lack of young
people coming into the industry, with 68% citing this
as a concern, while the need
to compete with less skilled
or unregistered tradespeople was revealed as a worry
for 66% of respondents.
Small to medium sized
businesses in particular reported feeling squeezed by
both local and national government, with the majority
claiming that government
policy shows preferential
treatment to larger corporations.
The survey also revealed
an overwhelming lack of
confidence in the banks
throughout the construction
industry, with more than
77% claiming that they do
not feel supported by the
banking sector. All sizes
of business represented
in the survey felt that the
banks are still reluctant to
lend to the industry, despite
the continued success of
the housebuilding sector
driven by the Help to Buy
scheme.
Paul Godwin, Managing Director of the Build
Show commented: “These
results show that although
the construction industry
is paving the way for the
UK’s economic recovery,
builders and contractors feel
alienated and neglected by
government policy. There
is a golden opportunity for
the government to boost
the economy, but to do this
it must nurture and support construction industry
growth. Cutting the VAT on
residential refurbishments
for example, would provide
a huge boost – research
from the Cut the VAT Campaign has shown that this
could be as much as £15
billion.
“We’ve chosen to launch
the Build Show now because we feel the time is
right for the construction
industry to take charge of
the reins again. By the
time the Build Show takes
place next April there will
have been no dedicated
event for the contracting
and building sectors for
more than five years, which
is why we want to provide
the space for the industry
to come together and move
forwards.”
Brought to market by the
organisers of the award
winning FIT Show (Fabricator Installer Trade Show),
the Build Show will take
place at the Birmingham
NEC from Tuesday 28th
to Thursday 30th April
2015, providing a wealth of
business development and
networking opportunities.
For more
information please visit
www.buildshow.co.uk