News PEOPLE
Colin Daly has joined Ideal Boilers’ training team as technical training manager and will be responsible for the northern terri- tory covering from Birmingham to Scotland.
Space Airconditioning has appointed Steve Shefford as ap- plied system sales manager with responsibility for the extensive Daikin AHU range of products.
Klima-Therm has announced two appointments to target strategic growth. Craig Mac- Fadyen has been appointed product manager for air handling units, while Evangelos Metaxas has been named regional sales manager in the South East.
Alpha Heating Innovation has appointed Paul Ricketts as technical sales manager, covering London and areas within the M25.
Following the significant expan- sion of its engineering depart- ment over the past year, Airedale International has recently pro- moted Robert Bedard to project engineering team leader.
Smith’s Fan Convectors has announced the retirement of Colin Denby from his position as North West, North Wales and North East Regional Manager, after eight years of service.
BSS Industrial, has appointed Paul Norton as regional sales director for the industrial sector.
Baxi Commercial has appointed Andrew Maclagan as its new man- aging director to further strengthen and grow its operations.
AmbiRad has appointed two new sales managers, Stuart Rob- erts and Tiago Martins. Stuart will be responsible for growing sales and raising product and brand awareness, while Tiago has been appointed export key account manager.
B&ES has announced the joint winners of this year’s Craft Trainee of the Year Award. Nicho- las Payne of Birmingham-based J S Wright & Co and Madeleine Fletcher of Npower shared the accolade, which is sponsored by the B&ES Heating & Plumbing Services (HAPS) Group.
Fourth consecutive quarter of growth revealed by CPA survey
According to the latest Construction Trade Survey, published by the Construction Products Association (CPA) on 9 June, construction activity was up again in the first quarter of the year.
It is the first time in six years that the industry has seen four consecu- tive quarters of growth in activity. Companies across all areas of con- struction reported increased output including building contractors, SMEs, specialist contractors, civil engineers and product manufacturers. The survey found that 57% of building contractors reported that, on balance, private new housing output rose during 2014 Q1 compared with 20% in 2013 Q4. In addition, 22% of building contractors reported that commercial offices and retail output rose during 2014 Q1 compared with 8% in 2013 Q4.
Meanwhile, 11% of firms reported that, on balance, housing repair and maintenance output fell during the first quarter of 2014. However, the CPA says that cost rises are a key concern, with 77% of building contractors reporting an increase in costs during the first quarter this year compared with 63% in quarter four last year. Overall, 89% of firms reported rises in material costs in Q1, considerably higher than the 65% of firms reporting material cost rises in Q4 2013. In addition, 50% of firms reported rises in labour costs, higher than the 34% of firms reporting labour cost rises in Q1 and 7% at the start of the 2013. CPA economics director, Dr
Noble Francis, said: “Firms across construction reported rises in output during Q1 and increases in orders and enquiries clearly indicate that
activity will continue to rise through- out 2014. Unsurprisingly, private new housing was the key driver of con- struction activity.” He continued: “Currently, the key
concerns are rising costs and skills availability in specific sectors such as private new housing. Overall, the industry reported that there weren’t serious problems recruiting construc- tion trades.” Paul Senior, national chair of the National Federation of Builders, said: “Rising workloads and increases in future orders are good news, but behind those figures are areas of concern. Higher labour costs and a lack of available skills are a ticking time bomb that needs to be defused urgently otherwise, for many SMEs, the premiums attached to the cost of simply building will become unsus- tainable.”
B&ES updates ductwork publications
The Building & Engineering Services Association (B&ES) has published new, updated editions of two essen- tial industry publications: DW/144: Specification for Sheet Metal Ductwork, a comprehensive reference work recog- nised as the Standard Specification for ductwork manufacture and installation, and DW/143: Guide to Good Practice – Ductwork Air Leakage Testing, a concise practical guide to leakage testing and ductwork classification. DW/144 has gained national and
international recognition, since its first publication in 1963, as the standard against which the quality of ductwork manufacture and installation should be measured. The newly-released second edition has been aligned to all current BS, BS EN ISO and other standards and regulations and builds on DW/144’s indispensable contents with far-reaching
revisions which take account of devel- opments in technology and working practices. DW/144 defines specifications for sheet metal ductwork for low, medium and high pressure/velocity air systems. The publication’s 200 pages cover duct- work application, materials, classification and air leakage; define the technical information to be provided by system designers to ductwork contractors; and look in detail at rectangular, circular, and flat oval ductwork. Content has been expanded on hangers and sup- ports, smoke and fire dampers, external ductwork, internal duct linings, thermal insulation and air terminal units, many clear reference tables. DW/143: Guide to Good Practice –
Ductwork Air Leakage Testing has also been brought fully up-to-date, with clear explanations of the classes of ductwork
that must be tested under regulations, acknowledging the re-introduction of high-pressure Class D ductwork to conform to European practice. Leakage testing of high-pressure ductwork is mandatory in DW/144, with testing of ductwork designed to operate at low and medium pressures not mandatory and required only when stipulated in indi- vidual job specifications. Both DW/144 and DW/143 have been called up in the UK Building Regulations Approved Documents L2A and L2B which deal with the conserva- tion of fuel and power in buildings other than dwellings and which set out the requirements for the testing of ductwork. For more information or to purchase
a copy of DW/144 or DW/143, call B&ES Publications on 01768 860405 or visit
www.b-espublications.co.uk
Green Deal home improvement fund opens
The Government launched its Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF) on 9 June. The new incentive scheme is open to all householders in England and Wales wishing to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. It allows household- ers to choose one or both of two core offers available and they may also be eligible to claim up to £7,600 as a bun- dled package.
6 | July 2014 | HVR
Under the scheme measures can be installed by Green Deal authorised installers and providers registered with the GDHIF. Simon Cross, commercial direc- tor at biomass distribution company IXUS Energy, said: “We welcome the Government’s announcement of further support for energy efficiency measures to help householders reduce their energy bills.
“Although it won’t directly assist cus- tomers with biomass boiler installations, the marketing campaign to publicise it will hopefully help to raise awareness of other government schemes designed to assist with carbon-reduction and cost savings for consumers – schemes like the domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). For more information about the GDHIF go to
http://bit.ly/1kSNyi9
Daily news update at
www.heatingandventilating.net
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