Just two weeks after the UK’s historic vote to leave the EU, the UK joinery sector gathered near Milton Keynes for the annual BWF Members’ Day.

Adding a bit of sparkle to the event at Whittlebury Hall Hotel and Spa, was the event coinciding with the run-up to the British Grand Prix, with many F1 drivers using the same hotel.

Many members arrived the preceding evening for an informal networking dinner, giving an opportunity to discuss industry issues and appoint a new BWF president – Cliff Thrumble of Boyland Joinery.

Members’ Day itself saw supplier sponsors hold a mini exhibition with stands to showcase products and services to woodworking companies, while a series of workshops throughout the day covered topics including identifying and quantifying risk, fundamentals of staircase design, CE Marking of fire doorsets, managing difficult clients and digital age technology advantages.

Keynote speaker Build UK CEO Suzannah Nichol gave an overview of the challenges facing the construction industry in 2016 and how Build UK was working towards resolving the fair payment issue and other fundamental supply chain challenges.

BREXIT STAYS HOT TOPIC

But Brexit was always going to be the hottest topic, with shadow minister for small business Bill Esterson, Construction Products Association economist Noble Francis, Ms Nichol and Timber Trade Federation director David Hopkins all debating the issue. “There are clearly very serious challenges to be faced, but the referendum decision must be honoured,” said Mr Esterson.

“With the uncertainty of the referendum I think the government should step in to support the economy and it has started to make the right noises.

“We now need to see investment in infrastructure and construction which will help the joinery sector,” he said.

Mr Francis said the short-term effects of the Brexit would be a delay in projects, while a hindering of investment could be the impact over the medium-term.

Brexit, he said, might not happen until 2019 but he did not think there would be a collapse in the housing market.

“What [deal with Europe] we end up with is anyone’s guess, it might be like Norway or Switzerland.”

He said it could be a no free trade scenario or EU associate membership.

Large new commercial projects may be impacted next year, due to a 12-18 month lag between orders and activity.

“The long-term fundamentals of construction are good but there will be volatility in the short term,” said Mr Francis. He said government help to offset the impact could possibly include boosting infrastructure, education, health and public housing.

POST-BREXIT OPPORTUNITIES

New BWF president Cliff Thrumble said clients were starting to ask questions such as whether his company’s windows were British-made, while a staircase manufacturer at the debate said new enquiries had dropped following the vote.

Performance Timber Products Group chairman Roy Wakeman believed more than 60 million people in the UK would still buy and consume products following the Brexit decision. “Let’s get on with it,” he urged. Sean Parnaby, managing director of West Port Windows & Doors, said: “Why do we worry about the EU result? They are not going to shut the door on this market.” BWF chief executive Iain McIlwee said there was an opportunity to reduce imports and promote the industry more effectively to the market.

“There’s a real opportunity for your industry to take a lead and present itself to government,” added Ms Nichol.

STAIR DESIGN STEPS

Hannah Mansell, BWF schemes and technical manager, took the stair design workshop session.

In it she covered various issues and trends in staircase design, including lighting in strings, the width of stairs, and questions on the overlapping of tread/riser.

She also highlighted a new BWF timber stairs design guidebook that will be launched at Timber Expo to help members find their way through the minefield of regulations. Several examples of bad staircase design shared included newel posts not secured properly, insufficient fixings used, varying height difference in risers, the balustrade not built to the minimum safety height, plus domestic products used in commercial applications incorrectly.