INDUSTRY VOICE
New Chair for Civils & Infrastructure Group
BMF meets MPs on decarbonising transport
The BMF (Builders Merchants Federation) has appointed Chris Woollard, Regional Director at Keyline Civils Specialist Ltd, as Chairman of its Civils and Infrastructure Forum. Chris has experience in manufacturing as well as merchanting, having spent six years as a Product Manager at Yale UK before joining Travis Perkins PLC in 2010. During his 15-year career at Travis Perkins, he held Commercial Director roles with CCF and Keyline before taking on his current role as Regional Director of Keyline’s Northern Region looking after sales and operations.
The Civils and Drainage Forum is one of the BMF’s six dedicated product category forums, which are designed to engage with members across various sectors of the building materials industry. BMF CEO, John Newcomb said: “BMF’s Product Forums provide a unique platform for members with responsibility in these areas to discuss issues of the day. Listening to the concerns and views expressed helps the BMF in its campaigning work to inform government and influence legislative policy on behalf of members.”
Chris takes over from Nick Boyle of Frazer, who stepped down having successfully chaired the Forum since its formation in 2018.
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At an All-Party Parliamentary Group on Net Zero, overcoming the pinch points on the road to net zero transport emissions was the focus for MPs. Brett Amphlett and Ben Scobie represented the BMF at the House of Commons meeting, chaired by Alex Sobel MP. The meeting included insights from Ruth Cadbury MP, Chair of the Transport Select Committee, and transport industry professionals on the incentives, investments, and innovation needed to decarbonise transport. According to Greener Vision, we will not meet the UK’s 68% interim emissions target by 2030 without more behavioural change. For freight, more modal shift from road to rail is required. But eventually, road user charges
MP and others wanted access to EV charging to improve. Rural and coastal districts are not well served - and legal complexities over roads and pavements must be overcome.
will be needed to reduce car dependency and mileages. Perran Moon MP, Octopus EVs and others wanted ministers to tackle the ‘spark gap’ and VAT that make electricity more expensive. A key hurdle in addressing this is decoupling the price of electricity from the price of gas - either by changing the structure of the electricity market or by significantly reducing its use in energy generation.
Mrs Cadbury MP, Mr Moon
Speakers felt hydrogen may not be the best option. Although both hydrogen and bio-fuels will feature in the mix of solutions, electric HGVs are becoming more readily available - yet high capital costs remain a barrier. Furthermore, securing the necessary grid upgrades to support depot charging is problematic. Negotiating agreements with electricity suppliers to charge vehicles overnight at off-peak rates - potentially avoiding costly grid upgrades - was recommended.
New Excel Training Courses Launched
The BMF has launched some new 1-day MS Excel training courses (either onsite or virtual training) for users who are either self- taught or who have had minimal training.
Excel Basic Skills Who would benefit: New users who need a fast track to simple worksheet production or those in need of a “refresher.” Objectives:
By the end of the course, delegates will be able to input data into a worksheet by using some of the “shortcuts” that are part of Excel; Insert and delete rows, columns and cells; and change how the information in your spreadsheet looks. In addition, they will have created formulas and charts. Course content: • Excel Fundamentals
• Edit a Workbook • Basic Formulas • Basic Formatting • Insert Objects
• Manage Worksheets
Excel Intermediate Skills Who would benefit:
Existing users who want to further their knowledge of the product. Objectives:
On completion of this course, the delegate will be able to use Conditional Formatting, some of the more detailed Functions that are available for data manipulation and begin to make use of the database functionality that is a part of Excel. It also includes a more detailed look at charts and linking between sheets.
Course content: • Charts
• Print and Distribute • Intermediate Formulas
Excel Advanced Skills Who would benefit: Users needing to analyse data Objectives:
Introducing the more advanced features of Excel. It includes manipulating data using pivot tables, solving problems using scenario and goal seek, and recording simple macros. Course content: • Pivot Tables • Pivot Charts
• Troubleshoot Formulas • Advanced Formatting • Advanced Formulas • Analyse Data • Macros
• For details email
training@bmf.org.uk
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net May 2025
• Manage Data • Tables
• Intermediate Formatting • Collaboration
BMF DIARY DATES
Please check the BMF website at
www.bmf.org.uk for all the latest news and events updates in this ever-changing environment.
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