INDUSTRY UPDATE


IDS’Managing Director John Bagshaw retires after 40 years of service


After a career spanning more than 40 years of service, John Bagshaw, the Managing Director of International Decorative Surfaces, IDS, has decided to retire. John was instrumental in


establishing IDS in 1999 and he has built IDS into the UK’s leading specialist distributor of decorative surfaces, generating well over £100 million in annual revenues and employing over 500 incredibly committed and capable team members across 16 sites in the UK. Having led IDS through


the Covid pandemic and its recent buyout by Chiltern Capital, John will now hand over the reins to Andy Sutton, IDS’s long-standing Commercial Director, who moves into the role of CEO. John Bagshaw commented: “I would like to thank everyone who has


supported me over the last 22 years, during which we have successfully managed through some challenging times and wish you all good luck for the future.”


Genna Nelson joins RSM team at Kudo


Genna Nelson has been appointed as the new Retail Support Manager for Kudos showers covering the Northwest of England. Genna, who lives in Milnthorpe, not far from the company’s head office


in Holme, Cumbria, joined Kudos Showers as part of their Quality and Technical team in 2018. Here she learnt lots about the company processes and its products, so when a vacancy came up in the customer support team, Genna was offered the role. She will now be overseeing display installations for her showroom customers and ensuring that they are kept in good working order. She’ll be regularly visiting her displaying showroom accounts in the Northwest to help build Kudos sales. Outside work Genna


loves to horse ride and spend time with her family. Kudos Shower Products


Ltd has been designing and manufacturing shower products at their Cumbria facility since 1999. Their portfolio includes shower enclosures, shower trays, over-bath screens and wet-room solutions sold via KBB showrooms and merchants across the UK.


40 BKU JANUARY 2023


TTA obtains clarity that EU anti-dumping measures on Indian and Turkish tiles do not affect the UK


against tile imports from Turkey and India. There had been concern expressed by some TTA members that


T


‘AD684 – Anti-dumping proceeding concerning imports of ceramic tiles originating in India and Turkey’, issued by the European Commission on 28thOctober, might also be applicable to the UK market. Following an investigation, which was initiated by a complaint received


by the European Ceramic Tile Manufacturers’ Federation (CET), the Commission decided to take action. This was due to a reported 48% increase in penetration of Turkish tiles into the European market between 2017 and 2020, and a tripling of the Indian presence during the same period – accompanied by significant price decreases, which resulted in the imported tiles being sold at prices lower than those produced within the EU. The European Commission established that this was having a negative


effect on the profitability of the entire EU tile manufacturing sector, which has been unable to raise its prices to a level at which it can be profitable. In order to restore fair trade conditions, duties are therefore being


implemented at differing rates, depending on which country and which company is involved, but amounting to 48% in some cases. Following a query from TTA, the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA)


responded as follows: “As of 1 January 2021, the UK is no longer a member of the EU Customs Union and any EU trade defence measures put in place after this date are not applicable to the UK. As the EU measure you’ve raised concluded after January 2021, it does not apply to the UK. If the relevant UK industry felt an equivalent measure should be in place, they would need to apply to the TRA for a new investigation. I can confirm that, currently, we have not initiated any equivalent investigation but that does not preclude an application being brought in the future.” This means that despite the EU ruling, UK importers will remain able to


bring tiles from Turkey or India into the UK market without any restriction or requirement to pay tariffs.


TA obtained clarification at the end of 2022 regarding the latest EU rules concerning anti-dumping measures taken


THE TILE ASSOCIATION COLUMN


u For further information or to join TTA visit www.tiles.org.uk/join


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