FeRFA AGM, EXHIBITION AND SEMINAR EVENT

Over 100 delegates, including FeRFA members, prospective members and exhibitors came to the Belfry on Friday 18 November for a full day of meetings, seminars, industry exhibition and, following the 2011 award presentations, a dinner dance to live music in the evening.

The outgoing Chairman, Alex Dennis, welcomed members to the meeting and was delighted to see so many there.  He also thanked the exhibitors and sponsors who supported the event and helped to make it a success for visitors. 

An overview of the past year was given by Helen McGachie, FeRFA CEO, highlighting the continuing growth in FeRFA membership despite the prevailing economic conditions.   The importance that FeRFA placed on training was seen as the cornerstone of its success by assisting companies to achieve NVQ status for its workforce, running apprenticeship schemes in resin flooring and surface preparation as well as providing upskilling courses to assist members in keeping up to date with new skills and techniques.  Apprenticeship training has been a major focus during the past year, with 26 apprentices joining the scheme, to include the very first Scottish Modern Apprenticeship.  For the coming year FeRFA would continue to raise its profile as the mark of quality by promoting the benefits of resin flooring in a wide range of applications for both industrial and commercial, and the importance of a fully trained and qualified workforce.  A number of technical publications had been published during the year, including a new FeRFA guide to preparing substrates to receive resin flooring and finishing resin terrazzo, and a revised Guide to PPE, and more would be produced during the coming year.  It also aimed to offer FeRFA members value for money by expanding the range of preferential services and free marketing support it offered.

EXHIBITION

An exhibition ran throughout the day and visitors were able to find out more about a range of products and services from:

BASF, Cobra Insurance, Component Developments, ConstructionSkills, Countrywide Waste Management,
Face Consultants, Incorez, Instarmac, Leeson Polyurethanes, Mapei, Protech Plastics Containers,
Rotowash, Slip Alert , SPE, The Preparation Group, Trelawny SPE and VI Distribution.

THE SEMINARS

Following the formal AGM and election of officers a number of seminars were given on the following topical subjects (click on the links to download the presentations):

FeRFA INSURANCE SCHEME

Howard Collins of Cobra Insurance Brokers showed the benefits of using the FeRFA exclusive insurance scheme were outlined by which included reduced premiums and free insurance health checks. Cobra is a strong supporter of the FeRFA training scheme and contributes an annual grant towards this work.

NO RETENTION POLICY

Suzannah Nichol MBE, CEO of NSCC (National Specialists Contractor Council) outlined the NSCC No Retention Policy which was launched at the start of 2011, calling for an end to cash retentions and the support available to companies to get paid on time. www.no-retention.co.uk

MANAGING YOUR CASHFLOW

Jason Heath of Bibby Factors discussed the availability of funding in a tight lending environment, with tips on managing cashflow. www.bibbyfinancialservices.com

RECYCLING AND WASTE MANAGEMENT

David Street of Countrywide Waste Management updated the meeting on the FeRFA Recycling scheme which was launched on 1st March this year.  The award winning scheme helps members to manage their waste more efficiently and effectively, reducing the amount of waste going to landfill. www.countrywidewaste.co.uk

BUILDING CARE – SAFE EFFECTIVE CLEANING OF FLOORS

Bill Tansley of Diversey UK discussed the six stages of cleaning resin floors, and the importance of maintaining hygiene whilst retaining slip resistance properties.www.diversey.com

FeRFA DINNER AND AWARDS

Following a drinks reception, guests were entertained during their meal with logic-defying magic tricks from Phil Jay and Dorian Michael.

After dinner, Helen McGachie and Award sponsors, announced the winners of each category as follows:

• Small Project of the Year – IRL Group / Sika (sponsor Huntsman Polyurethanes)
• Large Project of the Year – Ultrasyntec/Resdev (sponsor Huntsman Polyurethanes)
• Environmental Initiative Award – ACC Flooring (sponsor Countrywide Waste Management)
• Trainer of the Year – Flo-Dek (UK)  (sponsor Cobra Insurance Brokers)
• Contractor of the Year  - ACC Flooring (sponsor Protech Plastics Containers)

Full details of the Awards are available here: http://www.ferfa.org.uk/html/pdf/Awards2011.pdf

RESIN FLOORING APPRENTICES

Three of the successful candidates joined in the celebrations and were presented with their apprenticeship completion certificates, FeRFA certificate of achievement and the FeRFA ID badge by FeRFA Apprentice Officer, Terry Foxley.  Achieving the NVQ2 in In Situ Resin Flooring was Glenn Pearce of Central Flooring; and in Surface Preparation and Profiling were: Paul Henderson, John Barrass and Phil Sharpe of The Preparation Group.

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

A special presentation was made to Shaun Speers, who was retiring after many years as Chairman of FeRFA’s Technical Committee and as a long-standing member of Council.
FeRFA’s new Chairman David Priest also thanked Alex Dennis whose two-year term in office ended at the AGM and who was also standing down from Council.

CHILDREN IN NEED

The event raised a magnificent £907 for this charity - thanks to the generosity of all who attended.