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Editorial

THE JOURNAL OF THE ECASUMMER 2010 ISSUE 1

Making the change

New president, new era for the electrical industry

GOLD STANDARD

Winning the race for London 2012

GREEN LIGHT

Real opportunities in the low-carbon economy

HELPING HAND

Get advice and key help for your business

www.eca.co.uk

APPLE IPOD TOUCH!

Competition special – p66

WIN AN

Welcome...

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e’re delighted to bring you the first issue of ECA Today, the new quarterly journal from the Electrical

www.eca.co.uk

Editorial, design and production

Cambridge Publishers Ltd 275 Newmarket Road, Cambridge CB5 8JE Tel: 01223 477411 Web: www.cpl.biz

Editor: Phil Lattimore Tel: 07802 870008 Email: phil.lattimore@ecatoday.co.uk

Art director: David Houghton Design: Martin Cook Production: Darren Price

For ECA

Managing editor: Stefan Hay Tel: 020 7313 4860 Email: stefan.hay@eca.co.uk

Marketing and communications:

Victoria Strachan Tel: 020 7313 4823 Email: victoria.strachan@eca.co.uk

Print and distribution management:

Mark Connolly Tel: 020 7313 4855 Email: mark.connolly@eca.co.uk

Advertisement sales

sales@ecatoday.co.uk

Circulation to ECA members

Members of the ECA receive each issue of ECA Today on publication, and can request additional copies for individuals on their management team. Please email: circulation@ecatoday.co.uk with any queries and to apply for such copies.

Subscribe to ECA Today

If you are not a member of the ECA and would like to receive ECA Today, individual copies cost £7 each (plus postage) and a subscription in the UK costs £25 per year. To subscribe, please email subscriptions@ecatoday.co.uk.

The opinions expressed in editorial material do not necessarily represent the views of the Electrical Contractors’ Association. Unless specifically stated, goods or services mentioned in editorial or advertisements are not formally endorsed by the ECA, which does not guarantee or endorse or accept any liability for any goods and/or services featured in this publication.

©ECA, ESCA House, 34 Palace Court, London W2 4HY

Cover image: Kevin Nixon

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ECA T

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oday would like to give a special acknowledgement to our launch partners and thank them for their continued support.

Summer 2010 ECA Today 3

Contractors’ Association. In today’s fast-moving world, it is of increasing

importance that businesses keep up to speed with the changes happening around them. Understanding such issues as changes in legislation and technology is critical, as is looking out for that next big opportunity. However, it is often difficult to identify valuable information from the plethora of data that is washing around. The ECA recognises the vital role it plays in helping businesses to identify and utilise information to best effect, and we have been working with our members to understand how to provide the information they need. As a result, we are changing the way we communicate with members and have recently introduced some new approaches, including electronic newsletters, a revamped website and, now, this magazine. These new approaches build on the existing

services that members enjoy, including helplines covering the vast majority of business issues,

updates and presentations through branches and regions and, of course, the support of the regional and departmental staff. We believe this new approach provides the ideal mix in terms of format, frequency, accessibility and content, and it is our hope that through this combination of communication channels, the ECA can continue to help businesses to utilise information profitably, as it has done for more than 100 years. Through this magazine, we hope to provide valuable information from the wider business environment as well as from the property, building services and electrical sectors that are so important to us. It is our intention that ECA Today will operate as an industry hub, bringing together the clients, the contractors and the supply chain, in order to provide valuable and authoritative information on critical matters that impact on us all. Finally, let me once again welcome you to this first issue and I hope that you find it both valuable and enjoyable.

Steve Bratt

ECA Deputy Chief Executive Officer

From the editor...

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his magazine gives us a great opportunity to communicate with the people that matter – the thousands of ECA registered members across the UK who do the job and promote the industry every day. Our ambition is to reflect what the ECA is all about – what it offers its members, its partners and the sector overall. We will also be putting the work carried out by ECA registered members and the association into context, showing how businesses are responding to the challenges of operating in an ever-changing and more demanding marketplace. Inside ECA Today we provide a mix of articles addressing important industry issues – from spotlighting real opportunities for businesses in the green economy (p16) and upgrading your business (p54), to highlighting help for struggling firms (p37) and avoiding costly disputes (p48).

Phil Lattimore

Editor

Letters and emails

This is your magazine, so we’re keen to hear your views. Whether you have comments about the industry, the organisation, the magazine, or any other related issues, please drop us a line at mail@ecatoday.co.uk or write to Letters, ECA Today, CPL, 275 Newmarket Road, Cambridge CB5 8JE. The best correspondence published will win a bottle of champagne.

We also have a focus on the prestigious Olympic Stadium build (p22). There’s plenty more, too, that we hope you’ll enjoy reading – and find useful. Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68