profile
Ian Doherty is the Chief Executive of Owlett-Jaton, the UK and Ireland’s largest wholesaler of fasteners and fixings.
Following an extensive career in distributive businesses, Ian joined Owlett-Jaton in 2016. Ian brings a passion for customer service along with extensive hands-on experience in sales, marketing and supply chain operations.
In addition to his role at Owlett-Jaton, Ian is also currently Chairman of the British and Irish Association of Fastener Distributors (BIAFD) and their representative to the European Federation of Distributor Associations (EFDA).
Owlett-Jaton
With a 30,000 SKU product range, Owlett-Jaton, the UK’s largest wholesaler of fasteners and fixings, supplies a comprehensive range of products to UK customers with next-day delivery. Established in 1947, Owlett-Jaton offers a complete wholesale solution to the builders’ merchant and distributor trade.
Among Owlett-Jaton’s well-known and trusted market-leading brands are the Unifix range of products, Vortex high-performance woodscrews, Thunderbolts and the extensive JCP range of specialist fixings. All products are backed up by technical support and endorsed by the company’s ISO 9001:2015 quality accreditation.
Owlett-Jaton is the only fastener and fixings wholesaler to have achieved the ISO 14001:2015 environmental accreditation and is continually striving to improve the sustainability of its operations and products.
Visit: www.owlett-jaton.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/owlett-jaton
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/jcp-construction-products
Launched in 2015, the award winning monthly Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI) report is the only reliable measure of repair, maintenance & improvement (RMI) activity in the UK. Filling an important gap, it can be widely used in construction, and by economists, Government, national media, commentators and influencers outside the industry.
Owlett-Jaton Comment: Q3 2024
Demand in the fastener and fixings sector has continued to follow the general trends across merchants, with soft demand driven by the sluggish levels of construction and RM&I activity. With no immediate end in sight to the tensions in the Middle East, imports from the Far East will likely continue using the Cape of Good Hope route for the foreseeable future. This change to the supply chain has now stabilised, with a stable supply. With global economic demand being subdued, there has been some easing of the shipping rates, which will ease the inflationary pressures on products.
In early September, the government announced, rather belatedly, that the requirement for construction products to have UKCA(UK Conformity Assessed) approval for use after the 30th of June 2025 was being withdrawn and that the European Union’s CE marking would continue to be recognised, with the same being true of ETA (European Technical Assessment) certification, which was established to harmonise the safety performance of construction products. The government has not abandoned UKCA, which remains a valid mark but is now consulting on a wider reform of construction product regulation. Despite the investment that many companies have already made in testing for UKCA, this move is generally welcomed as there was no difference in the UKCA and CE standards, simply where the tests had been conducted. Equally welcome is the commitment that at least two years’ notice will be given of any further regulatory changes in this area.
The publication of the Grenfell report saw scathing criticism of many aspects of construction and highlighted a great deal of product information dishonesty. This has given some real impetus to the Code for Construction Product Information and getting the whole industry aligned on providing accurate and appropriate information for our products.