Wishing You a Prosperous 2012

Iain McIlwee, Chief Executive

My first couple of weeks as Chief Executive of the British Woodworking Federation have certainly proved to be both interesting and enjoyable.  Clearly I have much to get up to speed on and my Christmas reading list is starting to look a fair bit longer than the Christmas break, but one thing is clear, I have joined you at a fantastic time. 

At the BWF we have a dynamic and passionate Executive Committee and talented staff team absolutely focused on continual improvement.  The new website delivered in 2011 is evidence of this and has done wonders to open up our resources and given a vital shot in the arm to our Find a Supplier Search.  I hope you will also have noted improvement in our communications and newsletters, ensuring that you are kept up to speed on market developments and on new initiatives such as the u-value calculation service and the Stair Certification scheme, not to mention the ground breaking work of the WITForum, which plays a vital role in effectively inducting new talent into our sector and helping to keep our workforce productive.  Looking ahead, more improvement is to come as we focus on our mission of helping you to trade profitably. 

As with your own businesses, the BWF has had to deal with the challenges that our industry has faced and as we look ahead, the only thing certain about 2012 is uncertainty.  There are, however, grounds for optimism, with the Coalition Government starting to see investment in construction as a key driver for economic recovery and muting renewed focus on easing regulation to facilitate investment in housing stock.  New initiatives such as the Green Deal could fuel renewed investment in property – we need to be alert to any opportunities arising, rest assured BWF will be keeping you briefed.  

Despite this cautious optimism, we also need to be alert to new red tape in the shape of changes to Part L of the Building Regulations and new requirements associated with CE Marking.  We will continue to lobby with our partners at the Construction Products Association (CPA)and the National Specialist Contractors Council (NSCC), fighting your corner, limiting the impact and ensuring you are prepared for change.

We must also continue to fight to maintain standards in the sector.  The BWF is very much at the heart of the industry, representing you, on around 40 British and European Standards and other key technical committees.   A huge amount of work goes into ensuring that the evolution of technical standards does not impinge on your profitability and, as I am sure you are aware, our experts are at the end of the phone to advise you on implementation and ready to help you to meet the standards.

New powers bestowed on the Health and Safety Executive allow them to levy, not insignificant, charges on interventions, apart from the fines that can already be imposed.  All the information you need to comply with current regulation is available through the BWF and if you are having any trouble finding it, we welcome your call and we can walk you through it.  Please do call, not just because we all want to see a safe environment for all workers in the sector, but also, because getting it right from the start can save significant sums in the longer term.   For any who need reassurance and additional support, we are also able to offer full health and safety audits at a subsidised rate through our total support services, please call the office to find out more. 

Our Code of conduct is a vital step to driving up standards and we hope that those of you who have been audited are finding the process useful, certainly the feedback has been great.  We are also focussed on using our various certification schemes including the new Stair Scheme to give specifiers absolute confidence in our products.  

Finally, I have spent long enough locked away with files and folders, you are the industry and I want to get amongst you, I want you to give us insight into the past, present and what you want from our future.  I need to hear your stories, to understand your pain and through addressing this can continue to help grow and evolve the BWF as an effective and vibrant Trade Association.  I will be out on the road from January visiting members and attending member meetings so, I hope to meet you in the very near future.  In the meantime, if you want to raise a concern, opportunity or simply want to say hello, please do pick up the phone.

Finally, I hope you had a very Merry Christmas and I wish you a prosperous 2012.