News

Last year, Arbor Forest Products crowned Newcastle-based hot-tub and Trex® decking specialists North Spas as the inaugural winner of its decking installer awards. Now, the awards are back, and this year the Arbordeck Awards will also be open to installers of Arbordeck softwood timber decking, with an expanded category list …

Industry focus was the main part of the second day of the Builders Merchants Federation conference in Dubrovnik last weekend (June 13 to 16 2019). The session opened with presentations from a national merchant, a major independent, and manufacturer, followed by the opportunity to attend two of four break-out sessions …

Groundworks and materials supplier Rudridge swapped high-vis jackets for football kits when they hosted their tenth annual seven-a-side sports event at Crystal Palace. Playing alongside Rudridge’s staff were a number of former football pros and international legends. Amongst them were Peter Beardsley, Paul Walsh, Lee Hendrie, John Salako, Nigel Winterburn …

A plan by Swedish home décor giant IKEA and construction wizard Skanska to bring their low cost sustainable off site housing model to the UK has been welcomed by insulation specialist Actis. The Scandi heroes will be championing their revolutionary BoKlok housing initiative at this month’s annual Chartered Institute of …

Builders merchants buying organisation the National Merchant Buying Society has announced the venue and dates for its 2020 bienniel conference. Revealed by NMBS commercial director Andy Hextall, during the 2019 BMF All Industry Conference, the conference will be held from June 18th to 21st at the Hilton Sorrento Palace. The …

Merchants and suppliers learned of the importance of focusing on their employees – and their own – mental health at the  opening session of the BMF All-Industry Conference 2019 last weekend (June 13 – 16). TV presenter Nick Knowles, mental health campaigners Jonny Benjamin MBE and Neil Layborne, security expert …

On Sunday 16th June 2019, The IPG team got in to gear to participate in the London to Brighton Bike Ride in aid of their chosen charity partner, Missing People #find every child; a charity that supports the families who are missing a loved one or struggling to keep a …

Parker Building Supplies, the Sussex-based independent builders’ merchant, has acquired fellow NBG member Stamco, based in Hastings. The acquisition, funded by Parkers’ strategic partner, Cairngorm Capital, is a key step in Parkers’ strategy to expand its business through a combination of acquisitions, new site development and organic growth. Established in …

Racking and storage specialist, Filplastic, has undergone the first major rebrand in its 25-year history. The company, based near Howden in East Yorkshire, has changed its name to Fil to reflect the vastly expanded product and service range it has brought to market since launching in the 1990s. Along with …

A newly appointed regional specification manager for insulation specialist Actis has already managed to save a customer more than £2,000 thanks to using a combination of his technical expertise and the firm’s online U-value simulator. Jason Docherty, who has managed branches of B & Q and Jewson in his 25-year …