Director calls for action on construction skills shortage

Michele Wietscher, director at Newview Windows & Conservatories

Following the revelation that the average age of a construction worker is 49, the director of a home improvement firm has called for action to encourage young people to choose a career in construction.

The average UK construction worker is said to be 49 years old and male, and with a contraction in workers from the EU likely following the Brexit vote, there is an increasingly diminishing pool of workers for building firms to access.

Michele Wietscher, who is a founder and director at Newview Windows and Conservatories says that increasing diversity and promoting construction as an industry that is ‘exciting and worthwhile’ at secondary school level is the answer.

Michele commented: “The debate is finally happening about the next generation of construction workers but it’s now time for action. We’re facing a double crisis of an ageing population and a likely contraction of workers from the EU.

“Ironically, the labour shortage is also driving wages up, so construction jobs should be more desirable if only young people were encouraged to consider them.

“The long-term answer is to promote our industry as a viable option for young people and this means tackling it at school level and doing it now. Too many schools are judged on how many students enrol at college or university and this often means they don’t focus on sectors such as construction and create engagement between business and students.”

www.newview-homes.co.uk

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In what has already been one of the firm’s most successful years in its history, fabricator Dekko Window Systems is celebrating rocketing sales of its premium, Infinity PVC-U range.

The firm which specialises in premium PVC-U and aluminium products, reports that sales of its Infinity range of ‘seamlessly welded’ PVC-U windows have increased by an impressive 80% compared to the same period last year.

Kurt Greatrex, sales director at Dekko, believes Infinity’s success is attributed to creating a strong upselling opportunity for installers and a viable route to market to meet extensive consumer demand for premium products: “It comes as no great surprise for us to see Infinity continue to soar, because it provides installers with the optimal solution to break into the thriving premium market,” explained Kurt.

“Infinity helps installers rise above their competitors by offering something that is truly unique and far beyond the standard white PVC-U windows their rivals are selling down the street.”

The Infinity range is Dekko’s unique stamp on Deceuninck’s high-performance 2500 and 2800 systems, combining three distinct styles; chamfered, sculptured and the star of the range, the flush sash. According to Dekko, what separates Infinity from its rivals is a seamless weld, achieved by graf welding technology still new to the UK. This reportedly eliminates the ‘ugly’ corner grooves which are synonymous with PVC-U and allows Infinity to succeed in the high-end, premium market.

“Our approach at Dekko has always been customer-first, because if they are thriving then so are we,” added Kurt. “That’s why we’ve developed three strong brands in Infinity, The Residence Collection and Räum, our aluminium range – offering installers everything they could possibly need to raise their profile, make more sales and ultimately take their business to the next level.”

Based in Greater Manchester, Dekko was listed in the 2016 edition of the London Stock Exchange’s 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain.

www.dekkowindows.com

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Picture above:  Kestrel’s John Gunn is a piper to the stars.

By day Kestrel’s BDM for Scotland and Ireland, John Gunn, is an expert in fascias and cladding, but by night he’s a piper to the stars.

In fact, when footballing legend Paul Gacoigne fancied a Highland fling at his Hertfordshire wedding, he turned to John’s bagpipe band Gutty Slippers.

Gazza’s wedding, in 1996, saw the band play for the likes of Robbie Fowler, Alan Shearer, David Seaman and Terry Venables.

The once-in-a-lifetime gig came after a chance meeting. “We played at a 5 star hotel in Scotland when Gascoigne was signed to Rangers,” John explained. “He loved the music and asked us to play at his wedding.

“Once we finished our set, he told us to stay as wedding guests and, from the little I can remember, it was a fantastic evening with Chris Evans as DJ!”

John’s footballing connections don’t stop there; the largest crowd he has piped for was at Hampden Park in Glasgow, where 55,000 fans had gathered for the 2002 Champion’s League Final between Real Madrid and Bayern Leverkusen.

Brian Berry

The only way we will increase the number of new homes we are building is if ministers act now to implement measures in the government’s Housing White Paper aimed at removing barriers to small house builders, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

Responding to a report published by the Local Government Association (LGA) on the quality of house building, Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB said: “The LGA is right to highlight the slow rate of house building in England as we are currently still building significantly fewer new homes than we need to be to meet demand. Not only are we not building enough homes right now, but we’ve been under-building in this country for decades. In order to address this problem, it is vital that the government acts on key proposals in the March 2017 Housing White Paper. The White Paper quite rightly emphasis the need to diversify the house building sector so it is less reliant on a small number of large house building companies to build our homes. The concern is that almost six months after the White Paper was published, we’ve seen limited movement on a range of policies that if implemented, could start making a difference today.”

Berry continued: “The LGA report also raises concerns regarding the quality of new homes and points to one in 10 home buyers being dissatisfied with the end result. To put this another way, that means 90% of consumers are satisfied with the quality of their new home, which is a high customer satisfaction rate. Furthermore, this satisfaction rate is likely to be higher still among customers of SME house builders like the ones represented by the FMB. Our members market themselves on building high quality bespoke homes for their clients and this is their unique selling point.”

Berry concluded: “The LGA report also suggests that total investment in new homes should be greater than total investment in the refurbishment of our existing homes. Given that the UK’s housing stock is among the oldest in Europe, with a high proportion of heritage properties and listed buildings, it is equally important that these homes are properly looked after and maintained. In other words, it’s not an either or situation. If we are to solve the housing crisis then we must increase the delivery of new housing but also maximise the lifetimes of our existing buildings. The government could help encourage greater investment in our existing housing stock by reducing VAT from 20% to 5% to encourage more people to properly maintain their properties.”

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Guardian Glass’ new float and coated glass plant will be located adjacent to the company’s existing plant in Czestochowa, Poland.

Guardian Industries has approved the investment for an additional float and coated glass manufacturing plant in Czestochowa, Poland, to meet the growing demand for float, coated and fabricated glass products across Europe.

The new facility will be located next to the company’s existing plant, and is expected to begin operations in the third quarter of 2019. Reportedly creating more than 150 new jobs, it is set to process 1,000 metric tons of glass per day and will include a technologically advanced glass coater.

Guardian Glass president and CEO, Kevin Baird, said: “The new facility will be the biggest green field capital investment in Guardian Glass’ history and will further position us as a leading producer of high performance, safety and energy efficient glass products for European residential and commercial buildings.

“Guardian is excited about the growth we’ve seen in Poland and confident that the Czestochowa location is well positioned to meet our customer’s needs. We’ve enjoyed strong support from the city of Czestochowa, the Katowice Special Economic Zone and the Polish government.”

Guardian Glass’ existing float line in Czestochowa will go through a repair project at the start of 2018, designed to increase its production capacity.

“We look forward to continued growth in Poland and neighboring countries. The co-location of the two plants will create a competitive and efficient structure to deliver a wide range of glass products and will contribute to generate long-term value for our customers in the region,” said Guus Boekhoudt, vice president of Guardian Glass in Europe.

In addition to the Czestochowa plant, Guardian Glass operates facilities in Oroshaza, Hungary; Thalheim, Germany and Ryazan and Rostov, Russia, among its 10 European float plant locations.

www.guardian.com

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Following the recent acquisition of Village Glass, the Synseal Group reports that it has now completed a refinancing with the support of its current investors and funders, H.I.G. and Proventus, who have provided substantial further funds to continue their support for the growth and integration of the group.

The refinancing is said to have resulted in a ‘significant strengthening of the group’s balance sheet’ and ensures that Synseal is positioned to ‘solidify its market leading positions in PVC-U profile and conservatory roofs, and to take advantage of its strategic growth areas of glass, entrance doors and aluminium window and door products’.

The Synseal Group has developed from a £70m turnover extrusion business prior to the MBO in 2010 to a £160m turnover multi material supplier to the fenestration industry with positions in PVC-U and aluminium window and door systems, GRP and timber doors, Insulated glass units for windows and roofs, conservatory roofs and portal frame structures. The group reportedly employs more than 1,500 people across seven sites.

H.I.G. is a global private equity and alternative assets investment firm with more than €20 billion of equity capital under management. Based the U.S with affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogotá, Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro, H.I.G. specialises in providing both debt and equity capital to small and mid-sized companies.

Proventus Capital Partners is an active credit investor and loan provider to Northern and Western European companies in need of capital for expansion, acquisition financing, restructurings and refinancing.

www.synseal.com
www.higcapital.com
www.proventuscapitalpartners.se

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