Construction and Building Industry Exhibitions September 2013

Trade shows should have a more
positive vibe this Autumn

As the summer comes to an end, the building industry exhibition season starts again, and this September is a very busy month for UK trade shows. Pin Board is delighted to provide a simple and comprehensive list of the events around the country.

Visiting exhibitions are a simple way to network, and to enhance your understanding of the legislation, trends, products, customers and competition in your market.

With the industry beginning to look much healthier in its outlook, there should be lots happening this Autumn - so take a look at what is new and interesting, and visit one the shows.

Keep a space in your diary and have a day away from the office, or from the slog of day-to-day field sales.

When: 10th September
What: Renewables Roadshow
Who: Energy efficiency sector
Where: Exeter
Web: www.renewables-roadshow.co.uk

When: 12th September
What: Renewables Roadshow
Who: Energy efficiency sector
Where: Ricoh Arena, Coventry
Web: www.renewables-roadshow.co.uk

When: 15th - 17th September
What: GLEE 
Who: DIY market for garden departments
Where: NEC, Birmingham
Web: www.gleebirmingham.com

When: 17th September
What: Renewables Roadshow
Who: Energy efficiency sector
Where: Newcastle
Web: www.renewables-roadshow.co.uk

When: 19th - 22nd September
What: London Contemporary Design Show
Who: Architects, interior designers, retailers and designers.
Where: London
Web: www.100percentdesign.co.uk

When: 19th September
What: Renewables Roadshow
Who: Energy efficiency sector
Where: Edinburgh
Web: www.renewables-roadshow.co.uk

When: 20th - 21st September
What: Elex
Who: Electrical market
Where: Ricoh, Coventry

Web: www.elexshow.info/index.html
When: 24th September
What: Renewables Roadshow
Who: Energy efficiency sector
Where: Sandown Park, Surrey
Web: www.renewables-roadshow.co.uk

When: 24th - 25th September
What: Timber Expo
Who: Timber sector
Where: Ricoh Arena, Coventry
Web: www.timber-expo.co.uk

When: 26th September
What: Renewables Roadshow
Who: Energy efficiency sector
Where: Manchester
Web: www.renewables-roadshow.co.uk

When: 27th - 29th September
What: The National Home Improvement Show
Who: Self-build
Where: Olympia, London
Web: www.improveyourhomeshow.co.uk

Take a look at the latest sales jobs in the building products industry

Featured Sales Jobs in the Building Products Sector for August 2013

August 2013: We are seeing a great increase in companies recruiting at the moment. This month we focus on a number of fantastic sales and management opportunities throughout the UK.

If you are interested in the kitchens and bathrooms, heating and plumbing and the structural building products sectors you should really take a look.

• Call us on 01480 405225 to discuss any of our current vacancies 
• Email us on recruit@pinnacleconsulting.co.uk
• Visit our website at www.pinnacleconsulting.co.uk to find out about our full range of recruitment services for the building products sector.

Keep informed of ALL our latest jobs when they become available on our Facebook page. Remember to click LIKE! to ensure you receive the full benefits of news, jobs, entertainment, articles, events and promotions.

See below for full details of our featured jobs (click 'Read more' if required).

The good news for the UK building industry just keeps on coming...

Sometimes when one bit of good news comes, more just keeps coming. The construction and house building industry is in a very positive frame of mind at the moment, and the latest good news comes from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors as they reveal the highest number of potential buyers seen for four years and house prices growing at their fastest rate since 2006. 

RICS’ housing market survey for July showed that a net balance of 53% more chartered surveyors reported a rise rather than a fall in demand for housing compared to 38% in June. The signs of recovery were evident across the UK. 

House prices rose across the country for the fourth month running and at their fastest rate since the good old days back in November 2006. Peter Bolton King, RICS global residential director, said: “These results are great news for the property market as it looks like at long last a recovery could be around the corner. Growth in buyer numbers and prices have been happening in some parts of the country since the beginning of the year but this is the first time that everywhere has experienced some improvement.”

A major contributing factor is the government’s Help to Buy equity loan scheme. Help to Buy now has hit 10,000 reservations since it launched in April, according to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). 

DCLG said that the scheme was “giving the confidence to housebuilders to deliver and build more homes.” It added that Help to Buy’s mortgage guarantee scheme would further increase mortgage availability and “help promote confidence and housebuilding”. 

The DCLG also stated that new housing supply was at its highest since 2008, with 319,000 additional homes added in England between 2010 and 2012. More than 150,000 affordable homes had been built over the past three years through affordable housing programmes, and the number of first time buyers is said to be at its highest since 2007. Communities secretary Eric Pickles said: “This government’s package of measures to boost the housing market is working, with housebuilding and housing supply on the up. “The tough decisions we have taken to tackle the deficit are now delivering a sustainable increase in housing and providing real help to hard-working people.”

Pinnacle Consulting is a specialist construction sales and marketing recruitment agency, that actively supports manufacturers, merchants and distributors of building products and materials to find them high quality employees. If you are looking to add to your team, or if you are ready to start the next stage of your career development, contact us today on 01480 405225.

Employment confidence is building every day

Coming on the back of last weeks’ news that construction is the leading sector showing growth in the jobs market, Pin Board is pleased to bring yet more encouraging news, as a new survey from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) indicates that over 56% of employers will hire more permanent staff during the next three months.  

This news confirms the feedback we have been receiving from our clients since Easter, and it finally seems the whole labour market is now feeling confident enough to start recruiting for growth. 

The latest JobsOutlook survey from the REC is based on the responses of 600 employees from the public, private and non-profit sectors and from a range of industries and organisation sizes. The survey also revealed that 49% of employers plan to increase their permanent workforce over the next four to twelve months.

REC director Tom Hadley says the survey shows that businesses “are more optimistic about the future than they were 12 months ago”.

The jobs market in England was given a further boost from the findings in the inaugural Job Confidence Index, commissioned by the National Careers Service. The results based on a study of more than 4,000 people in England, carried out by ICM Research, gives an overall job confidence score of 51.8 out of 100 (50 indicates neutral job sentiment). 

It seems that everywhere you look the balance is leaning towards a positive future, rather than the negative outlook shown earlier in the year.

Employees have understandably been concerned about the lack of stability in their current roles, and have also been reluctant to take the plunge and look for a new job. However, this feeling is beginning to change. 

The survey reveals that 74% have become more confident or maintained the same level of confidence in their ability to keep their current role or find a new job over the next three months.

Even more encouraging is that three-fifths of employed people feel that it would take them fewer than six months to find a new job that they wanted if they were made redundant, with 38% feeling they would need no more than three months.

The construction industry was also given a boost in the latest Markit/CIPS Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index which showed that the construction industry was in its third consecutive month of increased orders, and showing it highest level of activity for over three years.

The construction industry has felt the full impact of the recession over the last 5-6 years, and really deserves to reap the benefit of a sustained recovery. 

Pinnacle Consulting is a specialist construction sales and marketing recruitment agency, that actively supports manufacturers, merchants and distributors of building products and materials to find them high quality employees. If you are looking to add to your team, or if you are ready to start the next stage of your career development, contact us today on 01480 405225.

Image courtesy of adamr / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

UK Construction Industry at three year high

PinBoard is delighted to learn the UK construction industry has reached its highest level of activity for over three years, which continues the positive signs of the last few weeks. There is rising expectation the industry is securing the foundations to build on this increase in activity, and the UK economy is finally improving.

Latest figures show a continued rise in housebuilding, with firms reporting increased work and rising profits, as buyers take advantage of increased confidence in the market.

The Markit/CIPS Construction Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 57.0 in July, representing an increase from 51.0 in June. Any figure above 50 indicates expansion in the sector, and much of this is down to the Government's Help to Buy scheme

The results reveal residential housebuilding leads the growth in new activity, though civil engineering returned to expansion in July and commercial construction output rose at its highest pace since May 2012.

Companies say growth has been helped by a third consecutive month of increased orders, that have raised confidence for the next 12 months.

Tim Moore, Markit senior economist, who wrote the report, said: "The survey for July highlights a new wave of optimism across the UK construction sector, with companies reporting a pace of expansion in excess of anything seen over the past three years.

“The swing back to output growth broadened to include commercial and civil engineering activity during July, although housing construction remains the one thing crucial to the sector’s strong upturn at present.

“Construction firms saw the fastest improvement in new orders for more than a year, which helped kick-start job creation and input buying growth during July."

David Noble, CIPS CEO said: "Homes are the beating heart of this rapid recovery in the construction sector, backed by a solid expansion in civil engineering and commercial activity. Better economic conditions, a jump in new business activity and the strongest rise in confidence since the era of austerity began in 2010, strongly suggest this growth can be sustained into Q3. 

"The rising confidence goes hand in hand with increasing output, underpinned by the expansion in new business orders, which was the steepest since April 2012. As a result, firms are starting to believe this is the real deal for the recovery, demonstrated by the strongest pace of job creation since December 2011.

"One constraint on the sector is the pressure on suppliers to meet the sharp rise in demand. Suppliers have been surprised by the speed and scale of the revival leading to lengthy delivery times due to a shortage of capacity based on hard learnt lessons over the past few years. This will be something to watch in the coming months."

PinBoard looked at this issue raised by David, last month, highlighting the shortage of building blocks and how some manufacturers and stockists have been caught short.

In addition to this encouraging news, the PMI survey for manufacturing indicated that the sector grew in July at its fastest pace for more than two years.

The reading of 54.6 for last month, from an upwardly revised June figure of 52.9, was the strongest since March 2011 and marked the fourth month in a row of expansion. PMI surveys are based on data from various private-sector firms, which supply information on factors such as output, new orders, stock levels, employment and prices.

All this is very encouraging news for the construction industry. Manufacturers, stockists, specifiers and contractors, should all take heart that after an unprecedented period of uncertainty about the long-term prospects of their jobs and companies, that confidence is again starting to grow.

Pinnacle Consulting is a leading construction sales and marketing recruitment agency.

Image courtesy of Artur 84 Residential building under construction / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Construction sector leads jobs market growth

What a difference a year makes! The latest Reed Job Index for July has revealed that the construction sector is leading the way in the continued growth in the UK jobs market. This is fantastic news for all involved in the construction and building products industry, with it showing an amazing 92% increase in vacancies since July 2012.

Overall the total jobs market also continues to grow with the July Job Index six points higher than year to date average of 155. Figures show a 17% year on year growth in job opportunities. The current figure of 161 is up from 138 at the start of the year.

For the second consecutive month Scotland had the greatest growth in new job opportunities year on year, up 35% on July 2012. This level of growth is closely followed by Yorkshire and Humber (29%) and the North West (22%).

Commenting on the latest figures, James Reed, chairman of reed.co.uk, said: 

“The jobs market is one of the first indicators of the health of the economy and it has shown continued growth during 2013. We are now seeing wider signs that the UK is on the road to recovery and these numbers underline that.  

“Given recent statistics, which show an annual rise in property prices for all regions of the UK for the first time in over five years, it isn’t too surprising that jobs growth in the construction and property sector has been so significant. It will be interesting to see how these figures move during the course of the year, as the influence of Government support through schemes such as Help to Buy becomes clearer.

“While there are signs of an economic recovery, we should be concerned that this growth has not yet translated into salary increases. Salaries have continued to decline – year on year they are down 1.5% – so household spending will be impacted. Once workers are more generally experiencing improvements in their standard of living, it will be a recovery worth celebrating.”

You can download the full report here.

Also commenting on these figures, Steve Rogan, Managing Director of Pinnacle Consulting, leading construction sales and marketing recruitment agency, said: 

"We are delighted for the whole industry to hear this fantastic news. It confirms the increased optimism that many of our clients have been indicating to us over the last few weeks, and it is just reward for the patience and expert management shown by many companies in the sector during the last few years. There are many companies coming out of the recession in a healthy state and ready to exploit the opportunities out there. 

" With more construction work taking place, it means more construction products being made due to increased demand for stock from merchants and distributors, as larger and more regular orders are being placed by builders and contractors. This increased activity creates the need for employment in all areas and job functions, and is great news for everyone involved in the industry."

Call Pinnacle Consulting on 01480 405225 to discuss our current UK wide sales, marketing and management opportunities in the construction products and building materials industry. You can look at our latest jobs here.


Image courtesy of "City" by Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

So what did YOU do to meet the new CE marking regulations?

CE Marking Regulations have now changed

One month has now passed since under the Construction Products Regulation 2011 (CPR), it has been mandatory for manufacturers to apply CE marking to any of their products which are covered by a harmonised European standard (hEN) or European Technical Assessment (ETA). This change has also had implications for distributors and their responsibilities.

However, much of the industry is still confused: Do you really know what you should have done or should be doing? Pin Board is delighted to help make it 'EC' to comply with your CEs!

What has changed since 1st July 2013?
The CPR is a major change for the whole industry with regards to CE marking, as the Construction Products Directive (CPD) it replaces was voluntary, the new Construction Products Regulation (CPR) is mandatory and has now been adopted by the European Commission and UK Government.

What is CE marking?
CE marking indicates that a product is consistent with its Declaration of Performance (DoP). By issuing a DoP the manufacturer, importer or distributor is assuming legal responsibility for the conformity of the construction product with its declared performance.

The CE Mark provides proof of this “fitness for purpose” and the manufacturer affixing the CE mark shows that the construction product will enable the finished construction works to comply with the Construction Products Regulation requirements (called Basic Works Requirements) of:

• Mechanical resistance and stability
• Safety in case of fire
• Hygiene, health and environment
• Safety and accessibility in use
• Protection against noise
• Energy economy and heat retention
• Sustainable use of natural resources

The CE mark is a claim that a particular construction product can be legally placed on the market of member states of the European Economic Area (EEA).

What does the change mean?
As a result of this change, manufacturers’ and importers' construction products must now meet the CE requirements of the new Regulation.

According to the Regulation, the requirement for CE marking will apply to:

"Any product or kit which is produced and placed on the market for incorporation in a permanent manner in construction works or parts thereof and the performance of which has an effect on the performance of the construction works with respect to the basic requirements for construction works."

So any products that fall under this definition that were placed on the market from July 2013 and are covered by a harmonised standard, will have to be accompanied by a Declaration of Performance and will need to display the CE mark.

How does CPR affect you?
If you manufacture or import products that are within the scope of the Regulation, you will be required to declare that the product complies with the Regulation and display the CE mark, before they can be sold in the UK and Europe.

The responsibility for ensuring that a product has the correct characteristics for a particular application rests with the building designers, contractors and local building authorities, and manufacturers and importers will be required to provide the necessary testing evidence.

Manufacturers' responsibilities:

• Drawing up declarations of performance for their products
• Affixing the CE marking
• Keeping documentation for 10 years
• Ensuring series production maintains the declared performance – QA system, works instructions etc.
• Ensuring products (or packaging) bear identification marks and a contact address
• Providing instructions and safety information with their products
• Taking corrective action where products are not in conformity with declarations of performance

Distributors' responsibilities:

• Ensuring that, where required, products bear the CE marking and are accompanied by the necessary documents
• Ensuring that storage or transport conditions do not jeopardise the conformity of products with declarations of performance
• Taking corrective action where products are not in conformity with declarations of performance

It is important for distributors of construction products to ask their suppliers: a) if their products require CE marking under the CPR, yes or no. b) if yes, ask them to supply a certificate of performance and details of the CE marking. If you can prove to your customers that you are prepared and know what you're doing, then you should have no issues.

Are ALL products affected?
No, as mentioned earlier, only products covered by a harmonised European standard are eligible – if there is no harmonised standard, there is no legal requirement to CE mark the product

Harmonised standards can be either an EN or an ETAG (European Technical Approval Guidance). A quick way to tell whether an EN is harmonised is to see if it has an appendix ZA and ZZ; ZA will provide the ‘essential requirements’ of the product and ZZ will provide details of the content of the CE marking – it’s not just the letters CE.

The following links takes you to the official list of harmonised standards:

For ENs
For ETAGs

You should check periodically for updates which may affect you.

What happens to all our stock on our shelf/stores?
Don't panic too much - products that will comply but were manufactured before 1st July will not need to be withdrawn from sale.

Why has this changed happened?
The aim of the CPR is to remove technical barriers (i.e. the multitude of national standards existing within individual European countries each of which references different test methods) to make trade between European Member States for all construction products intended for “permanent incorporation in buildings and civil engineering works” easier to measure. Under the CPR new European test methods and the means of measuring these, have been developed and accepted by all countries in the EEA.

In summary, CE marking is a passport that enables a construction product, irrespective of its origin, to be legally placed on the market of EEA member states. It means that a construction product meets certain minimum standards for health, safety and economy of energy. It is NOT a quality mark. The difference between a quality mark and the CE mark is that the certification system upon which quality marks operate is determined by the legal owner of that quality mark e.g. BSI, whereas the CE mark represents a common approach to conformity that is recognised in all countries making up the EEA.

Who is going to police the change?
The CPR is to be policed by Trading Standards.

For more information on the new CE regulations click here

Search for the latest construction products sales jobs

Construction Sales and Marketing Career Clinics, August 2013

Looking for a new challenge in construction sales or marketing or even just an independent evaluation of your career direction? Arrange to attend one of our FREE PinBuild Career Development Clinics throughout the UK during August.

PinBuild Clinics are for sales and marketing professionals in the building products, construction and interiors sectors and provide specialist career advice. Call us to arrange to meet one of our Specialist Consultants.  Tel: 01480 405225 or e-mail recruit@pinnacleconsulting.co.uk

August PinBuild Clinics

• Thursday 15th August: Warrington
• Wednesday 28th August: Basingstoke

Our current jobs: You might find one you'd like to discuss:
Construction products and building materials sales jobs
Construction products and building materials marketing jobs

PinBuild Clinics will evaluate the job seeker’s career to date and identify the best opportunities available. The clinics provide professionals with expert advice on how to progress their career by discussing the industry sectors that have potential for growth, the skills and focus needed to ensure that they develop with the changing nature of the market and how to ensure that their career continues to progress rather than stagnating.

The clinics will also assist those that attend to map out a realistic and achievable career path, including any potential training requirements. Assistance will also be given to evaluate their CV and also their interview technique and where they should focus to ensure they realise their true potential in the building and construction industry.

We specialise in external and internal sales positions, marketing and management roles and director and board appointments with manufacturers, merchants or distributors across the whole building, construction and interiors product spectrum.

Read the latest construction news from The Guardian