News

Independent, family-owned builders merchant Beesley & Fildes has invested £300,000 in a new timber treatment plant at its Chester branch. Replacing an existing facility, the fully-automated plant can operate all year round and for the first time, enables the merchant to treat timbers in green and brown from its Chester …

The Plumbing & Heating Merchant Index (PHMI) report showed that Q4 2023 total value sales through specialist Plumbing & Heating merchants were flat (+0.4%), compared with Q4 2022, with falling volumes (-5.0%) and higher prices (+5.7%). With one more trading day in Q4 2023, like-for-like sales were -1.3% down. It …

Radiator maker Stelrad reported a resilient performance for the year ending December 31 2023, with revenue slightly down by 2.6% at £308.2m, due to headwinds in new build and RMI activity. There was a 17.9% improvement in operating profit to £26.7m, driven by 13% increase in contribution per radiator thanks …

Brick and block maker Forterra chose International Women’s day 2024 to celebrate Charlotte Wood, plant manager at its Measham Brickworks in Leicestershire. Nottingham-born Wood has moved through diverse sectors such as food production, beverages, and healthcare, where she honed her skills in management, lean process improvement, and cultural change, before …

James Jones & Sons launched a series of short films in celebration of International Women’s Day this week. The films aim to showcase the number of careers and opportunities there are across the timber and forestry industry and to dispel the myth that the timber industry is just for men. …

Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI) report reveals builders’ merchants’ value sales in Q4 2023 were -5.7% down compared to Q4 2022, with volume sales falling -12.0% and prices rising +7.1%. It also stated that with one more trading day in Q4 2023, like-for-like sales (which take the number of trading …

The Independent Builders Merchant Group (IBMG) has launched a group-wide TradeSaver campaign. Running until the end of April, the first stage of the campaign offers discounts from 5% to 15% on a range of products. Designed especially for IBMG’s small and medium sized building and plumbing trade customers the TradeSaver …

Adaptavate, the pioneer in developing and industrialising low-carbon and carbon-nega6ve construction materials has commissioned the world’s first pilot line capable of producing Breathaboard in a continuous, integrated, and scalable process. Breathaboard is a revolutionary bio-based, carbon sequestering alternative to plasterboard. It is produced, specified and installed in the same way …

Leyland SDM is celebrating its female workforce this International Women’s Day and sharing some of their stories. Catalina Ciolan, 28, admits she felt some anxiety when she started as a picker in a traditionally male-dominated warehouse role at Leyland’s Wembley distribution centre a year-and-a-half ago. She said: “Being one of …

Prime minister Rishi Sunak and chancellor of the exchequer Jeremy Hunt visited Selco Builders Warehouse on one of the most significant days in the political calendar. Sunak and Hunt were welcomed into Selco’s Old Kent Road branch just hours after the Spring Budget were delivered to the House of Commons. …