News
Underfloor Heating
THE outlook for the UK underfloor heating (UFH) market in 2014 is analysed in a new market trends survey just released. Growing importance of energy efficiency and carbon footprints in the construction industry will benefit the contract (non-domestic) UFH sector, estimated to be worth £48m in 2013, says AMA Research. Its new report forecasts that the total UFH market value in 2018 will be £122m at MSP (manufacturers selling prices), a rise of 26% compared to 2013. The domestic UFH sector thought to be worth £49m in 2013 includes...
read moreSoaring Costs A Worry Despite Growth Signs
RISING material costs are a concern for 89% of companies responding to the latest trade survey from the Construction Products Association (CPA). This issue somewhat tempered the positive news that construction activity rose in the first quarter of 2014, the first time in six years that the industry has enjoyed four consecutive quarters of growth in activity. Firms across all areas of construction reported increased output including building contractors, SMEs, specialist contractors, civil engineers and product manufacturers. Dr Noble...
read moreJohn Alcock Awarded Life Membership Of CFA
FORMER CFA president and treasurer John Alcock, who recently retired, has receiving the honour of life membership of the CFA as recognition for all his work for the association. Pictured is John (lerft) receiving his certificate of life membership from current president Alan Gayle, who also gave John a bottle of his favourite tipple on behalf of the CFA council! John has been on the CFA council for many years and was president of the association from 2008 to 2010. He was treasurer of the CFA until his retirement two months ago. John has also...
read moreFlooring Contractors Enjoy Boost In Orders
FLOORING contractors are among the specialists who experienced encouraging signs of growth in the first quarter of 2014, according to the latest NSCC State of Trade Survey. The number of enquiries they received rose to 59%, the highest figure for over 15 years. This led to more orders, with 50% of respondents reporting an increase since the last quarter, which is 23% up on this time last year. As a result, specialist contractors are feeling more positive about the future than they have for some time. The report shows that 54% anticipate...
read moreNew Palmer Report Shows Latest Contract Flooring Trends
A NEW report from Palmer Market Research due later this year will reveal current and anticipated trends in the contract floorcovering market. Speaking to CFJ, Robert Palmer (pictured) explained that his new report on the contract floorcovering market in Great Britain (which last appeared two years ago) would be looking at the signs of improvement in the construction industry and to what extent has this begun to affect contract floorcoverings with its heavy reliance on refurbishment and refit work. He confided that indications are show that...
read moreNew Man At CFA Has Passion For Training
TRACY GREGORY has started work as the new CFA training manager. He is based in the CFA office in Nottingham. Richard Catt, ceo of the CFA, welcomed Tracy to his new role, and commented: ‘Tracy brings with him a wealth of training experience that will complement the existing team and strengthen the training opportunities and benefit that we bring to members. ‘FITA will naturally form a major part of Tracy’s role, but will include the wider training needs of CFA members and annual update of the CFA’s training guide.’ Tracy...
read moreHow To Cut Your Insurance Premiums
Adam Bernstein on insuring the future NOBODY likes bills, but bills for insurance shouldn’t be dodged; insurance is far less expensive than not being insured in the event of a loss. The bigger problem though, is that too few are switched on to the art of making savings. Laura Marsh, partner in insurance specialist, PPS GI, says it’s important that business owners understand that ‘the market remains incredibly competitive and at times, the premiums quoted are in no way reflective of the risk insured.’ Nathan Scott, an account...
read moreDo Your Customers Get Satisfaction?
Leo Aspden on effective marketing LESS than 10% of new products succeed (over 90% of them fail), according to Christensen et al. (2005). This is mainly because companies don’t understand the principle of effective market segmentation. Despite the growth in Customer Relationship Management (CRM), which research company Gartner predicts will be worth £22bn by 2017, it seems we still have much to learn. n Successful segmentation: This is based on a clear and detailed understanding of decision makers and their needs. No market or industry...
read moreDon’t Allow The Next Floods To Sink Your Company
Jo Eccles on crisis planning for businesses THE winter floods in Somerset and other areas of the UK have taught us a valuable business lesson: The importance of crisis planning! The country may have recently been basking in early summer temperatures, but the floods earlier in the year impacted on many businesses, resulting in major disruption to operations and leaving a significant number of small companies counting the cost of the damage and facing hefty recovery costs. Many small business owners don’t like to think that that the worst...
read moreHealth & Safety For The Feint-Hearted
John McDonald with a simple guide to being safe DOES health and safety scare you? If it does, don’t despair, you can just keep it simple. Carpet cleaning, carried out by a skilled carpet cleaning technician, should be low risk so long as attention is paid to the workplace and the task in hand. Self-employed technicians need to concentrate on earning a living, which can make Health & Safety seem like an inconvenience, but if you work to simple systems it can be easy to comply with the regulations. The main risks from carpet cleaning...
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