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State of the industry: adjusting to the new normal
The ongoing pandemic continues to affect the commercial heating industry but there are clear signs that things are improving and will continue to do so. Steve McConnell of The Industrial & Commercial Heating Equipment Association (ICOM), provides an overview
I
n common with most sectors of business, the boiler market and broader heating market experienced
considerable difficulties in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there are signs that things are changing for the better as we all get to grips with the ‘new normal’. At the beginning of the pandemic,
as we reported in HVR at this time last year, there was a severe strain on the commercial heating sector. Large numbers of staff were furloughed and some companies virtually shut down completely – with all the financial implications that such a situation brings. Nevertheless, the heating industry
worked hard to ensure that critical facilities such as hospitals, care homes, etc. were able to operate safely with comfortable working environments. This required considerable teamwork between manufacturers, distributors,
logistics companies and installers and, often, in-house maintenance teams. Indeed, it’s entirely possible that
the collaboration that delivered so many benefits then continue to help all sectors of the industry in their recovery.
Slow recovery
This time last year we were able to report that ICOM members were experiencing a slow recovery though, on a positive note, with clear signs that the market was picking up. We continue to see positive signs.
For example, boiler sales normally fall from February until spring and then recover in the summer months. This year, members reported a rise in February, rather than the traditional fall, and the anticipated decline in spring was not as sharp as in the previous three years.
Inevitably, these results have been
heavily influenced by the pandemic, either through pent-up demand or a month or two’s worth of backlog (or a combination of the two). As for the rest of the year, we will have to see how it pans out and, as there is always a time lag between sales by members and the statistics reaching ICOM, at this stage the crystal ball is still a bit cloudy.
Supporting members and the wider industry
Throughout the pandemic, ICOM has played a key role in supporting its members – comprising manufacturers and distributors of commercial heating and commercial water treatment systems – and their customers. Our representation on BEIS (Business, Energy and Environmental Strategy) working groups, for instance, means that we have been able to keep
members up to date with ever- changing information, often before it was published more widely. ICOM also continues to represent the
interests of the commercial heating and water treatment industries on a wide range of regulatory bodies.
Managing change
From a building services point of view, perhaps one of the most important long-term impacts of the pandemic is the change in working practices. Organisations that used to view home working with suspicion have now seen many benefits of having staff work from home and are adjusting their work cultures accordingly. These changes are significant for
our industry because they will drive major changes in building usage, linked to more fluid occupancy patterns, and the services they use. Heating systems,
24 September 2021
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