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Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to the 2007 Plaisterers’ Trophy Awards.
I would like to thank the Worshipful Company of Plaisterers for allowing us to yet again fill its magnificent Hall to the gunwales.
This is my first official event as President of the Federation of Plastering and Drywall Contractors. I am extremely proud to take up the reins from David Grint. Thanks go to you David, and all the other past Presidents for your hard work, help and guidance.
I spent a great deal of time trying to find a word that sums up the Industry that we all work in. Plenty of words came to mind – most of which were not suitable for today!
However one word did stick – the word PEOPLE.
We are all reliant on people. They employ us, they work with us and they work for us. We are a people industry – if you don’t get on with people then you don’t do business.
As a Federation we recognize that fact. We enjoy talking to our members and react to their feedback. Big or small, we aim to serve everyone the same. However we also aim to set the standards. No matter what size you are, being a member of the FPDC means that you must meet certain criteria. We want our members to be recognized as the best practitioners in the Industry. We want our members to be professional, actively promote training, and have pride and skill in their work. In return we aim to protect our members and help them achieve competitive advantage over non members.
I think you will agree that we are currently in a period of flux; the financial markets are in disarray, there are mixed messages from the government about the economy, and the housing market has dramatically slowed.
In times of change people need stability, and reassurance. This is what the FPDC offers to its members. Access to years of established experience and many services to help resolve members’ problems, we are a “people” federation where networking with other members can bring massive benefits.
The FPDC is continuing to change. We have a new Technical Director, Martin Johnson. Martin joins us from the NHBC, and he will be visiting members over the coming months to understand the issues that affect you most.
The economies of Eastern Europe are growing at twice the rate of the British economy pushing up wages; this is already causing a significant return of labour. For some time now we have had to rely on foreign labour to support our dwindling British workforce. We must now accelerate our own home grown training to fill these gaps. To this end we have appointed Doreen Henry who takes on the mantel of FPDC Training Services Manager.
With experience gained in local authority and business development in the charity sector she will assist with the move to open our own training school in the London region to provide the trained operatives that our contractor members want and need.
We are also forging alliances with other trade bodies that overlap with our sector. One area in particular is the SEC Group who have maintained a high profile lobbying Parliament about payment abuse and procurement best practice.
Our own magazine Specialist Building Finishes continues to grow in frequency, winning a International Building Press high commendation last year for its coverage of sector issues. It is circulated to over 6500 contractors, clients and specifiers throughout the UK.
Sustainability has also grown in importance in recent years. Changes in waste regulation have reinforced the need for better management of waste and we have been instrumental in driving this agenda forward and the voluntary waste reduction targets we are about to agree with main contractors and developers will set new challenges and demands.
We are also continuing to arrange networking events. This year we have a Golf Day and Sportsmen’s Dinner on 15th May at Forest of Arden, for which tickets are now on sale. We will also be holding our Annual Conference in Paris in October. With regional events as well, I encourage all of you to participate and help raise the profile of the Federation and ultimately your own businesses.
Looking to the future, the next two years will not only be challenging but will also be a huge opportunity for FPDC to take further steps forward, gaining due recognition for our trade, which plays an integral part in the success of construction projects throughout the country. As the voice of drywall and plastering we will continue to focus our efforts on raising standards, promoting best practice and improving skills and efficiency.
And so, back to today.
The Plaisterers Trophy awards give the opportunity for all contractors within our trade to showcase their best work. It takes a great deal of time and effort to put an entry into these Awards, so whether you are successful in winning or not, all entrants should be proud of their part in making these awards the success that they clearly are.
I would like to thank all those involved in organizing and judging today’s Awards. I would also like to thank the sponsors for their kind support.
Enjoy the rest of today, and I look forward to meeting all of you if not today, then over the coming months