INDUSTRY NEWS EEIBA RELAUNCHES INDUSTRY CHARITY
The Electrical and Electronics Industries Benevolent Association (EEIBA) has unveiled its plans to become a charity fit for the 21st century at a re-launch event in London.
The event took place at the Electric Cinema in Notting Hill on 16th June to present its plans to key industry players and members of the trade press. Speeches were delivered by EEIBA president Ian Humphreys and Dr David Clarke of the Energy Technology Institute. Guests also heard from Wendy Murrell- Foster – a beneficiary of the charity who enjoyed a long and successful career in the electrical sector before she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The keynote speaker for the day was Nick Hewer, star of the hit BBC TV show ‘The Apprentice’. Having worked closely with Lord Sugar and his electronics
business, Nick was deemed the perfect fit to comment on the work of the charity in this industry. The relaunch of EEIBA was instigated following a research project carried out by the charity to find out what the industry wants, combined with a business review. Issues raised included the perception that EEIBA ‘had lost awareness at a grass roots level,’ and
‘has not moved with the times.’ The research also discovered that there is still a real need for the charity and the support it offers. Talking of the changes and the plans for the future, Ian Humphreys said, ‘A number of changes have already been introduced; all aimed at delivering better levels of service and suiting the needs of the industry in the 21st century. Improvements include outsourcing the finance function to reduce overheads by 50 per cent, reducing IT and admin expenditure to save 60 per cent, moving to new and more cost effective offices, and working more effectively as a team. ‘We have improved our services and in the past two years 40 per cent additional funding has been available for our beneficiaries. This is a direct result of some of the steps we have taken to date.’
SELECT WELCOMES PAS 91 INCORPORATION INTO PUBLIC SECTOR PROCUREMENT PROCESS
SELECT has warmly welcomed the Scottish government’s decision to incorporate specific provisions for the construction industry in procurement practices, with the aim of standardising how government interacts with the industry. SELECT, which had campaigned vigorously for the incorporation of the Publically Available Specification (PAS 91) in the current shake up of the procedures for bidding for public sector contracts, said the government’s response was ‘universally positive’ and recognised legitimate concerns within the sector. The important decision follows consideration of responses to the Scottish Standard Procurement Questionnaire and a lengthy consultation process involving key stakeholders from both suppliers and purchasers within public procurement. At the moment, there are many different procedures for pre-qualifying to bid for local authority contracts. They differ between authorities and sometimes even between different departments in the same authority. Suppliers accredited with one scheme might not be qualified to tender in and authority which recognises a different scheme. Martin Reid, member services manager at SELECT, said, ‘The cost of continually dealing with these different sets of questions is
enormous and has been adversely affecting the construction industry. Answering new questions each time was costing the sector £250m a year. ‘PAS 91 was developed specifically for the construction industry in the rest of the UK with the aim of saving companies significant time and money. So it is very heartening that the Scottish government has taken the pressing concerns of the sector into account.’
WF AND SENATE MERGE AND LAUNCH NEW BUSINESS DIVISION
Rexel UK, the UK operation of Rexel Group, has announced the merger of its WF Electrical and Senate businesses and the launch of a new business development division focusing on the growing market for energy solutions. Mark Ludwig, managing director for Senate, will become managing director of the new organisation combining WF and Senate. This strategic move will create a stronger branch focused organisation, benefiting from the sharing of best practices across the two Rexel banners. Brian Smithers, managing director for WF, has been appointed
to the role of business development director of a new Rexel UK business division that spans across all banners. The new business division will offer Rexel’s customers high levels of support to meet their growing need to reduce energy consumption and improve the quality of their business environment. Henri-Paul Laschkar, senior vice president Rexel UK & Ireland said, ‘The market is currently undergoing exciting changes with a growing number of new energy efficient products being launched and the development of a fast growing renewable energy market. Rexel already has a strong market share in these markets, and the creation of this new business division will enhance our ability to develop new opportunities and markets, while the merger of WF and Senate will give our customers the best support. This will ensure that Rexel UK is well placed to take full advantage of new technology opportunities both now and in the future.’
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FEED-IN TARIFFS GOOD NEWS FOR THE SECTOR CLAIMS SUMMITSKILLS
Small scale domestic installations will be the unexpected beneficiaries of the government’s long awaited review of Feed- in Tariffs (FiTs) for renewable energy and the electrotechnical industry is set to benefit, according to SummitSkills. Whilst most in the renewable and environmental industries are disappointed, the sector skills council for the building services engineering (BSE) sector has welcomed the recent announcement by DECC confirming that funds will be diverted away from field sized solar power plants. The reform will see domestic and other small scale installations of up to 50kW favoured over some of the larger community scale developments previously planned. This new focus will result in an increased demand for domestic installation of solar panels – providing businesses in the industry more opportunities to compete for work.
Keith Marshall, OBE, chief executive at SummitSkills, said, ‘In comparison with large scale projects which rely heavily on one provider, an increase in smaller domestic opportunities will provide the industry with more chances to compete for and showcase environmental technology installation. ‘The key challenge of course will be to make sure that the right people with the right skills do the jobs and that the inevitable resultant training bonanza really meets these skills needs. With a boost in demand, the likelihood of increasing numbers of rogue traders is high It is vital the public can be sure of an engineer’s competence to fit solar panels and other environmental technologies in their homes.’
IN BRIEF
The first version of the official Comfort iPhone app has been launched and is simple, easy to set up and to use. The free iPhone app can be downloaded from iTunes under Comfort Control.
Organisations and businesses in the UK that need to invest in an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) can now save money, as well as help meet their environmental obligations, after Borri was officially listed on the government’s Energy Technology List (ETL).
Continued growth in companies replacing old variable speed drives for new has led to ABB’s recycling scheme reaching a new high of 100m tons of drives. Drive users have been encouraged to replace old drives for newer more efficient models by ABB’s swappage scheme, which offers at least 17.5 per cent discount on the purchase cost, as well as help obtaining government aid under various national energy saving initiatives.
Wagner Solar plans to set up a solar thermal space heating division in the UK. The division will be headed by Dan Oliver, who is already a veteran at Wagner Solar where he was previously a member of the PV sales team.
Amtech has launched a new, interactive microsite (www.electrical-certification.
co.uk) to demonstrate the latest features in its FastTest electrical certification software. Visitors can also download a white paper on the new 17th Edition Amendment 1 and test their knowledge with the ‘Amendment 1 Quiz’.
A new animated tutorial is providing visitors to Click Scolmore’s online purchasing site with a comprehensive tour of the newly redesigned ordering facility. The section now benefits from a clean look with easy to navigate pages and enhanced facilities to make online purchasing quick and easy.
Fluke has announced its sponsorship of WorldSkills London 2011 (www.
worldskillslondon2011.com), which will be held over four days at the ExCeL London exhibition and conference centre in London’s Docklands from 5th-8th October 2011.
Eaton has revealed details of the product and packaging changes it is making to finalise integration of The Moeller Group, which it acquired in 2008. From 1st July 2011, the Moeller logo will start to be replaced by the Eaton logo on all products and packaging. These changes will flow through the supply chain throughout 2011 with a target completion date of 1st January 2012.
HM The Queen has renewed Vent-Axia’s royal warrant. Vent-Axia has held a royal warrant since it was first granted by HM The Queen in 1985.
Lewden:Palazzoli’s new website www.
lewden.com now provides a user friendly tool for exploring the company’s wide range of electrical products and power distribution solutions. Easy to navigate, the site offers easy access to the company’s latest catalogues and technical information, which can be viewed online or downloaded.
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