Paramount News - September 2009

Homeowners to improve not move

Homeowners are more likely to make home improvements than move, according to research from creditexpert.co.uk, the online credit report service by Experian. Nine in every 10 homeowners are planning to stay in the house, for at least the next six months, with many planning to add value while staying put.

Homeowners planning to make improvements are looking at spending an average of £11,142 on home improvements. Nearly a third of young homeowners (aged 25-34) are planning major improvements, including fitting a new kitchen or bathroom.

Creditexpert.co.uk’s Index tracks consumers’ current credit confidence and future expectations on a quarterly basis. It reveals that, despite declining levels of consumer confidence, 40 percent of homeowners still think that there house has risen in value in the last six months.

The figure rises to almost half in the South of England and in the North, 44 percent of homeowners believe that their property has risen in value.

Obituary: Norman Bennett

Former managing director of Ideal Standard, Norman Bennett has passed away. He joined in 1969 as a management accountant and was appointed to the executive board in 1973, as group planning director. He was appointed managing director in 1977.

Bennett handled the sale of the heating business in 1979 and focused the business onto bathrooms.

His experience saw him take voluntary positions, such as past chairman of the Council for British Ceramic Sanitaryware Manufacturers (CBCSM) and president of the British Bathroom Council (BBC). He was also instrumental in bringing together the Plastic Bath, British Bath, NBA and CBCSM into the British Bathroom Council. leading the first committee.

Hemingway addresses Bathroom Conference

Winner of Building Magazine’s Best Housing-Led Regeneration Project, Wayne Hemingway MBE will speak at the BMA’s Bathroom Conference on October 14. Specialising in affordable and social housing, Hemingway Design has worked on numerous projects including the multi award-winning Staiths South Bank by Taylor Wimpey, It is an 800 property project based on Tyneside.

Wayne Hemingway commented: "At Hemingway Design, we are always seeking out sustainable solutions and although I’m not a bathroom expert, I do like to have a wash occasionally and do know a bit about design."

He continued: "I’m keen to show the bathroom industry that sustainability has many faces and none of them are boring, staid or even unaffordable. Sustainable projects are crying out for complimentary bathroom concepts. Sustainable design should be accessible, affordable and enjoyable, creating individuality whilst not having a negative impact environmentally. We should be able to do that with bathrooms too"

The 2008 Bathroom Conference will delve into all aspects of sustainability from corporate and social responsibilities, sustainable communities, economic consequences and expectations for future bathrooms.

Dutch are best kitchen designers

Zero and Wolf’s biannual kitchen design competition has been named as Bart Luikinga of architectural practice IDFIX-BCL in Amsterdam. For his winning design, Luikinga removed a wall in the house and European winner of Sub-replaced it with custom- made steel panels to at as a room divider as house refrigeration and wine storage units.

The kitchen units were restored from old American kitchen and a stainless steel worktop has been fifed out with integrated cooking module.

Bart Luikinga said: "I was both surprised and honoured to win such a prestigious award an am pleased that our commitment to innovative design has been recognised by Sub-Zero and Wolf. The winning project really encapsulates my personal design ethos as we have salvaged old materials to produce a unique kitchen which is distinctive because of the way it works with its surroundings."

He added: "I love to work with steel as it is such a durable material and am always looking to produce a kitchen which is notable for its bespoke ingredients and exceptional aifention to detail."

Roman conquers Hadrian’s wall

A team of employees from shower manufacturer Roman has raised over £5,000 for two local charities by completing a challenge to walk Hadrian’s Wall. The team walked for 84 miles. from coast to coast, taking five days to complete the hike.

The funds were presented to Darlington and District Samaritans and St Theresa’s Hospice.

Data analyst at Roman and part of the charity team, Andrew Bowerbank said: "A big thank you goes out to all those companies, along with friends and family who contributed sponsorship money. The £5,000 we raised will really go towards our target amount for the year of £10,000 to be split between these two excellent charities."

Reva launches Stevens & Jubb brand

European bath manufacturer Reva Industries has launched Stevens & Jubb, a collection of designer bath and bathroom equipment for independent retailers.

The first range of 10 baths. the Comfort range, has been developed in conjunction with interior designer Mark De Jonghe. It includes single. double. offset, corner and a range of bath screens and accessories.

During the research process, accessibility was identified as an issue for users with restricted mobility As a result, several baths in the range have also been fitted with cross section grips. All models can be fitted with whirlpool and spa systems, as well as colour- changing chromatherapy lighting.

Managing director of Stevens & Jubb, Gary Stevens commented on the launch: "Before developing our first collection of baths, we took extensive research into people’s perceptions of ‘the perfect bath’. And the message we received was loud and clear, Both men and women, of every age. believe that comfort is an essential requirement for a perfect bath. We therefore decided to make the comfort of our baths a key priority"

Provex changes name to Lakes Bathrooms

Bathroom manufacturer, Provex Products has changed its name to Lakes Bathrooms, following increasing awareness of the company’s brand of shower surrounds. The company offers two complete ranges of shower enclosures and bath screens, Italia and Lakes, and it was found that its customers brand recognition for Lakes was so great that it should be chosen as the company name.

Sales director, Robin Craddock said: "We commissioned market research and mystery shopper exercises across trade outlets and retailers in the UK. What the findings demonstrated was that our Lakes brand was well-known and recognised across the market. Given that the name is established and proven to represent quality in buyer’s minds, its strength makes it the logical choice of title to spearhead the next phase of our company’s development"

He continues: "We want a name that compliments the design and style of our products, a brand that appeals strongly to the consumers and is immediately recognised by our existing trade customers. We believe Lakes Bathrooms delivers all these factors."

Marpatt moves home

Kitchen component supplier, Marpaft has moved to purpose-built premises situated just off Leicester’s ringroad.

The 80,000sq ft building includes warehouse facililties, as well as a 7,000sq ft trade showroom. According to Marpaff, its building will help provide the extra space required for larger stock items, such as solid wood flooring, profiled skirting or plinths, wooden drawer boxes, lighting and bedroom doors.

In addition, it will house an in-house finishing department to allow specialist finishes to be completed on site for a shorter turnaround. The showroom has space for 40 displays and will be used for customer training and photography.

Speaking about the facilities. Mark Koeberle, sales director of Marpaff said: "The new building is something that has taken years of planning and now it is completed will allow us to serve our client base with greater options and flexibility, It will ultimately allow us to respond quicker to the changing demands of the kitchen industry."

HSK makes a move

Following four years of UK sales growth, HSK has relocated to an office in Church Broughton, Derbyshire. The move is to support the spare parts division, which will service customers with a 24/48 hour response time. The sales and post sales numbers will be active for two months. while the change over is occurring.