Sales of construction & building products slowed in the fourth quarter of 2017 and a further slowdown is expected in 2018. The latest state of trade survey from the Construction Products Association (CPA) indicates that the UK’s £56.5bn construction product manufacturing industry is losing its pace. The survey results showed that more heavy side building products manufacturers, such as steel, bricks, timber and concrete, reported a decrease in product sales in the fourth quarter of 2017 than an increase. The net balance was -6%, compared to a 10% balance reporting a rise in Q3. This was the first negative balance since the first quarter of 2013. In contrast, sales on the light side, which includes non-structural and finishing products such as insulation, boilers, glass and lighting, were still reported higher by half of manufacturing firms. A net balance of 50% of light side firms reported a rise in sales in Q4 2017. Light side building products are generally used later in the construction process and therefore would expect to follow the pattern of the heavy materials side some months later. While manufacturers generally expect a modest pickup in sales in the first quarter of 2018, the survey showed a weakness in sales expectations extending across the next 12 months, for both heavy side and light side firms. No heavy side firms and only 10% of those on the light side expect to see an increase in product sales for 2018 as a whole.     CPA senior economist Rebecca Larkin said: “The survey echoes other industry data that has shown the prolonged period of growth in construction activity since 2013 started to lose pace in the closing months of 2017. Of note are the signals of a leaner 2018 with heavy side expectations for sales growth at their lowest in five years, reflecting a backdrop of a slower economy, Brexit uncertainty and falling new orders in key sectors such as commercial offices. “As well as weaker market conditions, it appears as though a further rise in costs will strengthen the headwinds facing industry. In Q4, 87% of heavy side firms and 91% of light side firms reported a rise in raw materials costs, whilst on the energy-intensive heavy side, fuel and energy costs were reported higher for 93% of firms. This illustrates the lagged pass-through of the 2016 Sterling depreciation and rising global commodity prices into input cost inflation that is still to filter down the construction supply chain. Three-quarters of product manufacturers expect inflationary pressures to linger into 2018.”

The largest construction materials trader in the UK has acquired one of London’s most successful and diverse companies serving the construction, quarrying and waste sectors. S Walsh & Sons Ltd – which partners with the major infrastructure firms for the removal, haulage, handling and recycling of construction and waste materials – has been acquired by GRS Group which was among the highest climbers the Sunday Times top track 250 growth companies in 2017. The acquisition is a win-win, providing GRS with access to key strategic locations in the heart of the capital for the import and export of bulk materials, while giving Walsh access to GRS’s national network of customers, supply partners and facilities for construction waste. GRS Chief Executive Jon Fisher says Walsh is a great fit for GRS: “The two businesses have worked together on many projects and in recent years we’ve built a much closer working relationship. The Walsh team has a wealth of operational, commercial and technical expertise across a range of services to construction, waste and quarrying companies. “More important is that Walsh has a similar customer-led, can-do attitude as we have in GRS, so I’m confident we’ll work well together. Acquiring Walsh expands the GRS portfolio with a market-leading range of joined-up services and sustainable solutions for the construction industry. It’s another example of putting our strategy into action to achieve our vision.” Having worked on virtually all of the capital’s major infrastructure schemes, Walsh employs around 175 people across London and the South East. The acquisition takes the total number of GRS employees beyond 800. The two businesses will operate more than 50 sites and are expected to handle over 20 million tonnes of construction aggregate and other materials each year. Walsh will continue to operate as a standalone business, joining forces with GRS when it’s advantageous for customers to do so. Walsh directors Nick Walsh, Westley Pickup, Richard Walsh and Tim Wheeler will continue to operate the business day-to-day. Nick Walsh said of the deal: “This agreement is a win-win. We’re very proud of the reputation Walsh has built up over the years – that’s a testament to the brilliant team we have working for us. The decision to sell has not been taken lightly, but teaming up with a business as ambitious as GRS is a natural step to take the company on to the next stage in its development.” All questions about the deal should be made to news@grsroadstone.co.uk in the first instance.  

Staff at pioneering roofing manufacturer Russell Roof Tiles have pulled out all the stops and raised an amazing £32,500 to help local vital services – close to its factories. Staff from Burton on Trent and Lochmaben have danced, hiked, run and quizzed their way to raising the cash. Russell’s monies raised is being split equally between Shropshire.Staffordshire.Cheshire Blood Bikes and Dumfries and Galloway Blood Bikes.  Both are volunteer-led, providing lifesaving medical supplies to NHS foundations, by transporting vital blood products, bone marrow, breast milk for premature babies and other life-critical supplies to local hospitals via motorbike, where every minute counts in helping seriously ill and injured patients. This takes Russell’s total fundraising efforts for the blood bikes to £56,000 across 2016 and 2017. Last year generous Russell Roof Tiles 170 staff at its three sites and suppliers raised an impressive £24,000 – smashing the original £20,000 target and enabling both charities to buy a much-needed new motorbike each. The money was raised by a wide range of fun and challenging fundraising activities. Most of the company’s 100 staff at its two Burton sites, on Wetmore Lane and Nicolson Way and its sister site in Lochmaben participated in some form or other.  This included a gruelling 72-mile hike across Hadrian’s Wall, a ballroom dancing competition at Brewhouse Arts Centre “Dancing on the Tiles”, golfing activities and football matches. For the first time a Big Quiz evening, hosted at the Pirelli Stadium in Burton raised a remarkable £8,550.  The event was a triumph, and included 48 teams included members from Russell’s parent company Crown Global Equity travelling from Texas, Mexico and Florida who joined local staff, customers and suppliers. Andrew Hayward, Managing Director at Russell Roof Tiles added: “I have been amazed and delighted to see the lengths that the staff have gone across all our three sites.  I want to recognise the support of the families of our staff who have been a huge support, also so many of our suppliers and friends who have gone above and beyond this year.  All to help these two amazing charities and their dedicated teams who work incredibly hard to provide a vital and lifesaving service.” Both charities operate 24/7 on a totally voluntarily basis and does not receive any government or local authority finance. Jeremy Cartwright, Chair of SSBB explained “We are totally dependent on donations and the goodwill of our volunteers to enable us to provide this important service to the NHS. We undertake over 5000 jobs a year covering over 200,000 miles which of course takes its toll on the bikes we use. This fantastic donation from Russell Roof Tiles will buy us a new bike and go a long way to help keep the service running. We are all extremely grateful to the staff of RRT for their tremendous and very creative efforts to raise this money for the charity.”

Modular construction, using timber as a key element, is a credible solution to fast and sustainable house building. However, Metsä Wood believes that more needs to be done in terms of sharing knowledge and innovation in wood construction to further advance the use of this material in mainstream construction.   In order to help facilitate this process, Metsä Wood has launched its Open Source Wood initiative at www.opensourcewood.com. Metsä Wood’s Executive Vice President, Esa Kaikkonen, explains: “Not enough knowledge about modular wood design and building is shared, so wood construction remains niche. There is plenty of innovation but it is difficult to find, so Open Source Wood is our solution. We believe that with open collaboration the industry can achieve significant growth.” The potential of wood is undeniable and today, offsite construction has major aspirations. Prefabricated wood elements enable fast, efficient and environmentally sound design without reducing quality. Reports on the benefits of such a lean approach are compelling: In a study of companies that have applied lean construction methods, 84% report higher quality in construction and 80% experienced greater customer satisfaction.(1) The report also highlights that almost 70% of projects that used prefabricated elements had shorter schedules and 65% had decreased budgets. Timber prefab construction also reduces other inconveniences such as the constant unloading of building materials, as well as the amount of on-site waste and the need to transport it. Innovation in the house building sector is key, and offsite timber construction could be key in achieving the high volume of housing required in the UK. Using new and innovative products like Metsä Wood’s Kerto®LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber), homes constructed offsite can be turned around in a matter of weeks. Modern engineered wood products can be used for a variety of housing projects ranging from terraced and detached homes through to apartment blocks several stories high. Across Europe, timber prefab construction is already mainstream, yet here in the UK we seem to be slow on the uptake. However, the tide is slowly turning with a greater need to provide affordable, adaptable and ecological homes. Despite signs of progress, more needs to be done to help house builders, developers and planners better realise the potential that modern wood products can offer. It is hoped that the Open Source Wood project will help to highlight some of the innovative projects taking place across the globe and, through a collaborative approach, bring timber construction methods to the forefront of new house building in the UK.