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BMF Burns Supper raises £4,625 for charity
THE BMF RAISED £4,625 to share between Variety, the Children’s Charity, the BMF’s charity of the year, and the merchant industry charity, The Rainy Day Trust, at its annual Burns Supper, held at the Dunblane Hydro Hotel. The event, which celebrates the life and works of Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns, is now an established fixture in the BMF’s calendar attracting 285
members from both sides of the Scottish border.
John Newcomb, BMF CEO said: “Once again the BMF’s Scottish region has organised a fantastic event and, in the year of his retirement, it is fitting that it took place in the hometown of Britain’s greatest tennis player, Andy Murray. Our thanks go to sponsors Velux, Rockwool, eCommonsense, Marley Plumbing
& Drainage Solutions, Marsh Industries and BMN, and to all those who donated prizes for the charity raffle and auction for their generous support. We must also thank everyone who helped to raise such a fantastic sum for the two charities we are supporting this year.
BMF meets MPs to discuss apprentices
from employers in discussion with MPs:
• parental preference and parity of esteem between academic and vocational education
THE BMF WAS in Parliament again last month to meet MPs and Peers at the invitation of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Appren- ticeships.
Two distinct themes emerged
• clarity is needed on how unspent Apprenticeship Levy payments will be used.
The meeting occurred the day after the Department for Educa- tion revealed more than £3 bil- lion paid as Apprenticeship Levy remains untouched by employers
who have to pay it. Businesses have taken out £480 million since May 2017, only 14% of total con- tributions they have paid in. The unspent £3bn endorses the BMF view that the Levy is not working as intended. Unless it is reformed, construction compan- ies will find it harder to invest in the quantity and quality of new learners they want - especially in the manual trades who are the customers of merchants.
New Regional Centres of Excellence
THE BMF WAS delighted to open more Regional Centres of Excel- lence recently.
Travis Perkins Omega Centre, Warrington
Travis Perkins’ P&H Omega Centre in Warrington is a 630,000 sq ft National Distribution Centre. With over 75,000 pallet/ pick locations, the site has an outbound pick ca- pability of over 2million units per week across 14,000 pallets. This is achieved through a core of over 300 colleagues, with flexibility for additional colleagues, as required, to meet business and seasonal demand.
SIG Distribution, Sheffield Opened in 2018, SIG’s brand new 20,000 sq ft, three-storey head office in Sheffield is home to over 200 employees. With top- of-the-range technology in place throughout, colleagues are able to work from any of the meeting rooms, breakout spaces and even the restaurant – making it a per- fect fit as a BMF Regional Centre of Excellence.
Talasey Group, Doncaster Talasey Group’s Academy premises in Doncaster will serve BMF mem- bers in the Yorkshire region. The origins of Talasey Ltd, operating as Talasey Group, is founded in
March 2019
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net
the history of its leading product brand, Natural Paving, established in 2004. Natural Paving’s com- mitment to excellent quality and customer service has led to its cur- rent ranking as the number one independent supplier of natural stone to the UK landscaping in- dustry. •
www.bmf.org.uk/membership.
Breaking down the borders in Ireland’s merchant trade
THE BMF HELD an historic meeting with members from across the island of Ireland who gathered together for the first-time last month.
24 delegates, representing 12 merchants and several building material suppliers from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, attended the meeting at the BMF’s first Regional Centre of Excellence south of the border, at the Xtratherm Innovation Centre in Navan.
The meeting, jointly chaired by David Haldane, BMF Regional Chair for Northern Ireland, and Dennis O’Connor, AMBA Chairman, focused on bringing together merchants and suppliers with a shared interest in improving all aspects of their business. John Newcomb said: “The BMF are delighted to facilitate a meeting with some of the best merchants and suppliers in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.”
The BMF welcome the following new members:
Supplier
Distributor
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