VIEWPOINT
LOOKING AHEAD TO 2022 Tim Wright, Managing Director, Concrete Products at Ibstock Concrete on the challenges and opportunities for 2022.
I’M SURE I speak for the entire industry when I say 2021 was extremely difficult for construction, particularly merchants. Every corner of the sector was significantly impacted by the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit, with materials shortages, distribution delays and a significant uplift in demand creating a perfect storm, not just throughout the UK, but across the world.
Over the last 12 months, the government has continued to position the construction industry at the epicentre of driving the nation’s economic recovery and growth, with the development of residential, commercial and infrastructure projects central to achieving this. The Stamp Duty holiday, in addition to the Affordable Homes Programme, created a housing market boom that significantly increased demand for building materials, with a wide category of materials, including roofing and fencing, significantly affected. Across the board,
manufacturers experienced low inventory levels throughout the first half of 2021 due to dispatching throughout 2020 lockdowns whilst manufacturing output was suspended. This meant that the continued rise
in demand, which was further impacted by the significant uptake in renovation and DIY projects, placed them in an extremely difficult position. This was further complicated by implications of the Brexit trade deal, with major haulage shortages created due to the reduced availability of European drivers.
High profile infrastructure projects, including the progression of HS2, also impacted the availability of necessary building materials, such as concrete, as the government continued to push forward with major national construction developments to help power the UK’s economic growth.
All of these factors created an extremely challenging market, and as we enter 2022 and the uncertainty that the new Omicron variant presents, we will continue to face these challenges for another six to nine months. As a business at the heart of building, we understand the importance of assured supply and acknowledge that, due to a number of factors, this is a major issue that continues to affect both ourselves and the wider market. Over the last two years, the industry has had to become even more efficient and productive and we will need to push this even
harder throughout 2022. This includes every stage of the supply chain continuing to examine how we can work smarter and harder to meet the needs of such a strong market.
Supporting our comprehensive network of merchants in meeting their commitments throughout this year is our number one priority, and until all of our customers are receiving the levels of materials they need to meet their business requirements, we will not stop pushing and innovating to identify how we can successfully fulfil demand. Communication and trust lie at the core of overcoming this turbulent trading environment. It is crucial that we engage with our customers now and work in close collaboration to achieve visibility of their requirements for the coming year. This will enable us to successfully forecast demand and adequately factor this into our manufacturing plans. We are therefore encouraging all of our distributors to work in partnership with us, so that together, we can react to the demands of the market and achieve combined success.
Throughout 2022, we will also continue to identify how we can implement key learnings to make us an even easier company to do business with, now and in the
future. This includes continuing to make strategically-led decisions to support the manufacture of building products that are experiencing the highest demand, including the application of strategic shift pattern changes within our factories. This optimises every single hour to increase manufacturing output, whilst operating in a COVID- secure way to continue to protect the health and well-being of our employees, suppliers and customers.
We are also continuing to also undertake significant investment throughout the business, with increased manufacturing capabilities, range rationalisation and enhanced product quality protocols being implemented to help increase capacity, without compromising on product quality.
As we head into 2022, it is important that the industry continues to work together and communicates effectively to ensure sustained growth is achieved. COVID-19 continues to significantly impact the sector and nobody knows for sure how long this new normal will be part of our lives, but I can think of no industry better placed to overcome the challenges – and grasp the opportunities – than construction.” BMJ
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www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net February 2022
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