BiKBBI News

BiKBBI APPOINTS EDUCATION OFFICER

The British Institute of Kitchen, Bedroom & Bathroom Installation (BiKBBI), confirmed the appointment of its new Education Officer, Stephanie Gray (pictured). Stephanie will be responsible for driving the organisations education initiatives, including its apprenticeship programme which is being launched from the multi-million pound facility at Prospects College of Advanced Technology (PROCAT) in September. The new Education Officer will also work with strategic partners, including The Chartered Trading Standards Institute and safety partners Gas Safe Register & The NICEIC in the delivery of BiKBBI’s CPD portfolio. Stephanie commented on her appointment by saying: “I’m pleased to be joining the BiKBBI team at this exciting time and look forward to delivering great educational opportunities to both the new generation of apprentices and our greatly valued members.”

With a long heritage of developing innovative electrical wiring accessories, Hamilton Litestat has launched the first dual 2.4A USB switched socket plate, which allows two tablets or other higher-rated smart devices to be charged simultaneously from a single plate. Hamilton unveiled its range of dual switched socket plates with twin USB charging points last year. These feature one 1A USB socket for phones and another 2.1A USB socket for tablets. The newly-launched dual switched socket plate features two 2.4A USB sockets (combined 4.8A) that can be used simultaneously to make charging even easier in this ever-connected society. “Consumers want to be connected 24/7 and we’ve seen the demand for easy charging solutions skyrocket,” says Gavin Williams, Hamilton’s Marketing Manager. “Our dual switched socket plates have been hugely popular, and we anticipate strong demand for our new 2.4A solution that is set to make connectivity even easier.” Supplied as double pole as standard, the socket plate is available in 12 designs, including the popular Linea, Hartland and Sheer designer collections, each having up to 11 stunning finishes.

DOUBLE BUBBLE - HAMILTON LAUNCHES INDUSTRY’S FIRST DUAL 2.4A USB SWITCHED SOCKET PLATES BLUM EXPANDS ITS UK WAREHOUSE

Blum UK is once again expanding its UK warehouse, only nine years after building the 3,000 square metre automated warehouse in 2009! The new extension will add a further 2,000 stock locations, and will also increase the speed of picking, as there will now be two picking locations. The new facility is scheduled to be live by November 2018, and will continue to add to Blum’s “One Experience” initiative which is to provide exemplary customer satisfaction .

POSITIVE OUTLOOK FOR 2018

Damian Walters, CEO, BiKBBI

Angela Smith, BiKBBI Brand Ambassador The British Institute of Kitchen, Bedroom and Bathroom Installation held its annual stakeholder conference recently, attended by members, retail partners and associates. The event focussed on the organisation’s development throughout 2017 and provided guests with an insight into its plans for the year ahead.

The conference opened with an address by BiKBBI Brand Ambassador, Angela Smith, who shared some impressive numbers around membership growth, which is now in excess of 5,500 businesses, and the organisations social media growth and new digital strategy.

Event host and main speaker, BiKBBI, CEO Damian Walters stated that the main focus for the institute in 2018 is to realise its ambitions of successfully bringing KBB apprenticeships for installers and he announced with understandable pride that after years of persistence, it will open its own Centre of Excellence in September this year.

More good news was announced by Damian when he unveiled industry giant Häfele as the latest BiKBBI Official Sponsor whose representatives were in attendance. Further breaking news revealed on the day was that the BiKBBI, in response to industry challenges around insurance, was to launch its own kbb installer friendly insurance service for its installer, retail and corporate members in conjunction with acclaimed Insurance specialist, the UIB Group. The new insurance scheme will provide members with access to specialist trade and personal insurance products that have been tailored specifically for their unique needs.

The event closed with a summary from Damian Walters, who said “ The industry and indeed the UK as a whole, faces challenges around the uncertainty of BREXIT and the subsequent economic unknowns this is creating; we have our very own challenge around a widening skills gap and general short fall of professional installers but, I see only opportunities ahead providing we work together in innovative ways.”