BBC visits Carvers in Wolverhampton
Builders merchants came under the spotlight in June when BBC News visited Wolverhampton independent builders’ merchants Carvers Building Supplies as part of a report into how the
West Midlands economy was coping post-lockdown. Managing director Henry Carver was interviewed by BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg and told her how the firm’s 300 staff had been furloughed for three weeks, but that most were all back working now.
“We have faced recessions and we know we come out of them. We take a long-term view and we try to keep as many people as possible,” Carver said. “But we’ve never faced a pandemic before and I’m not sure how quickly we will come back to the normal level. They have spent so much money, what the hell is going to happen in the future?” The Carvers visit co-incided with the Prime Minister’s announcement of his New Deal, which was held at a college in Dudley.
TG offers concrete deal for customers
Shropshire independent TG has opened a brand-new concrete plant next door to the TG Builders’ Merchants branch at Chartwell Park, in Bridgnorth.
TG Concrete is part of the Tudor Griffiths Group and the company has concrete plants across Shropshire, Cheshire, and North and Mid Wales.
TG Concrete General Manager, Dave Morris, said the new facility could produce up to 80 cubic metres of concrete per hour, and the company had invested in six new mixer trucks to serve customers in a wider geographical area. “We’re very pleased with the new plant as we have been able to design and build it from scratch which means we have been able to create facilities that suit our requirements perfectly.
“We’ve paid special attention to the environmental impact of the site too, making special arrangements to harvest water so that it’s an entirely recycled water plant.”
The Bridgnorth plant offers four aggregate bins and three 80-tonne storage silos so that the team can produce a number of classes of ready-mix concrete.
Sunak’s job scheme welcomed by BMF
The BMF is fully supportive of a number of measures to secure jobs within the construction industry announced in the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s statement on July 8.
One of the key announcements is the launch of the Construction Talent Retention Scheme (CTRS), a partnership between the Government and industry to secure essential talent in the UK construction sector.
The CTRS will be run by the Construction Leadership Council, made up of trade and business associations from across the supply chain, including the BMF. It is designed to keep skills in the sector, matching displaced workers with employers seeking staff.
Formally launching later this month, the CTRS will be an online portal that supports redeployment of staff at risk redundancy across the sector, while also enabling temporary employee loans between businesses. The scheme will also give displaced workers from other sectors a route to find new
July 2020
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employment in construction. John Newcomb, BMF CEO, said: “Covid-19 has already had an impact and we are seeing businesses having to reduce their workforce. We need to keep the skills built up over many years within the industry in order to secure construction’s long-term recovery.
“The CLC’s Talent Retention Scheme, alongside the financial measures announced by the Chancellor to encourage businesses to employ and train young people and provide quality apprenticeships, will help to retain our talent base and redeploy their skills across the entire sector as well as well moving to secure the future by investing in the next generation.”
The CTRS has funding from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy until the end of the financial year, providing a free online platform for any organisation looking to hire, while ensuring that candidates’ skills and experience are given a prominent platform within the industry.
LBS makes Barry its 26th branch
South Wales independent builders’ merchant LBS Builders Merchants opened its 26th branch yesterday (June 15).
The branch, on the Ty Verlon Trading Estate in Barry, is the family-run company’s furthest east branch in Wales.
The fully-refurbished site, off Cardiff Road, will consist of a builders’ merchant, a Total Plumbing outlet and a large, impressive kitchen and bathroom showroom.
Founded in 1931, the Welsh business comprises of 17 Builders Merchant Branches; 10 Total Plumbing Centres; 11 Kitchen and Bathroom showrooms; a specialist Civils business; a dedicated roofing merchant; Talbot Timber: a timber and roof truss supplier and manufacturer; and a Home and Garden Centre.
The company has completed a full restructure of the shop, warehouse and yard, with new IT systems, a wide product range, in- depth stock holding and new fleet of vehicles.
Initially, the new branch has added 15 new positions, with plans for more as the branch develops. Managing director, Mark Davies said: “We are delighted to announce the opening of our new Barry branch. We are pleased to have been successful in employing a fantastic team of local people, all from the Barry area, to help us make this branch a real success that provides excellent service for our new and existing customers in the area.
“People are at the heart of what we do, and our continued investment and growth allows us to welcome new team members to our 380-strong workforce.”
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