of offsite construction methods also means there could be an opportunity for merchants to be selling more lightweight building materials. Fibre cement slates are a great product for this, as not only are they recyclable and around half the weight of our thinnest concrete tile.”
Selling roof systems Accessories continue to be an important area for merchants and as Paul Merchants says, most customers are now using
Back at MKM Deborah Cobb says: “As we head into the New Year, the accessories market is performing very strongly. However, it is heavily overpopulated with trend MKM has noticed geographical areas are gradually moving over to
At Marley Eternit Paul Johnson believes it is this that offers the biggest sales opportunity for merchants: “Since the introduction of BS 5534, we have seen more merchants selling roof systems as the market products and this is where there is a real opportunity to add value in 2018.
“Selling a full system with
our JB Red battens allows merchants to make a much greater margin, ensure customers are compliant with all of the latest standards and means they can pass on a 15 year roof system guarantee.
“The introduction of the 8612, will also bring greater market and hopefully reduce the amount of inferior products on the market. Merchants should only that comply with the new standard, which is due to come into force at the end of January 2018. However, it is worth pointing out that BS 8612 only sets a minimum quality standard, so merchants should be aware that there will still be performance differences between compliant products.”
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an important role in communicating the importance of the new BS 8612 standard to customers, as Deborah Cobb says: “We’re endeavouring to make sure our specialist on these developments. MKM will be stocking and promoting only the correct products and communicating changes to all customers, particularly our more traditional customer base who are more active in the domestic RMI sector.”
Grafton’s Mark Rawlins more customers switching that comply with the new British Standard. It also gives us an opportunity to talk to and educate our solutions, to help them gain business.”
Changing buying behaviour
There is no doubt the issue of product availability has been a challenge across the whole construction sector this year, following the economic downturn and then sudden growth in building activity.
Back at Marley Eternit, availability of materials has been challenging for manufacturers, merchants and their customers and everyone has had to adapt to longer lead times in high demand, such as bricks and concrete roof tiles. “Merchants have got used to having to order products in advance, but when availability does improve, they will need to change their buying trends back so that when they can, they put more stock on the ground to meet the growing demand.”
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