profile
Paul Owen
Paul has many years’ experience of working in the home improvement and roofing sectors. He joined roofing in September 2000 as Area Sales Manager for Marley Waterproofing. In his new role he was responsible for roof surveys and generating flat roofing specifications for bituminous membranes and insulation. This later expanded to include specification of liquid applied waterproofing and single ply membrane, before his promotion to Key Account Management.
In 2006 Marley Waterproofing was acquired by the IKO Group. This led to Paul’s role developing into Commercial Management of the Roofing Distribution team, incorporating sales into national and independent roofing distributers. With the builders’ merchant sector progressing strongly in roofing, and following an internal change at Board level, Paul was offered the opportunity to head up the newly created Distribution Division, which includes sales to merchants, roofing distributers, and retail.
IKO Group
The brands in IKO Group have been global leaders in waterproofing and roofing products for over 100 years. The UK division was established 10 years ago after the successful acquisition and integration of the leading roofing and waterproofing brands, Ruberoid, Permanite, Marley Waterproofing, SpectraROOF and Hyload.
The company is growing in a number of very different markets including asphalt road surfacing; mastic asphalt paving; highways bridge expansion joints; car park systems; flood defence systems; PIR insulation; damp proofing and tanking membranes; single ply membranes; flashing, roof shingles and liquid protection – to name just a few.
IKO has three manufacturing plants in the UK, based in Wigan (Bituminous), Chesterfield (Polymeric Single Ply and Structural Waterproofing) and Grangemill (Hot Melt and Mastic Asphalt).
IKO has achieved the following standards for all three of its UK plants: ISO 9001 Quality Management, ISO 14001 Environmental Management and BES 6001 for responsible sourcing of construction products.
Visit www.ikogroup.co.uk. Follow @ikoplc
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.
IKO PLC Comment: Q4 2019
Paul Owen, Commercial Director Distribution IKO PLC is BMBI’s Expert for Roofing Products.
October brought an early plunge into freezing winter conditions, November a deluge of rain and floods, and December saw a return to freezing conditions, then more rain and gales, before the construction industry finished for Christmas. So, did we get any roofing done in quarter four? Well, we are a resilient bunch in the roofing sector. In between sitting in steamed-up trucks reading up on the latest changes to building regulations, it seems we actually got quite a lot of roofing done.
Overall reports indicate that Q4 2019 was slightly up on Q4 2018, with all sectors reporting steady demand, until the early break for Christmas resulted in a sharp tail off in December.
Merchants who did very well were those stocking a range of liquid and membrane solutions, supporting the increasing demand for maintenance and emergency repair products after a spell of severe weather.
Torch-on roofing felt sales were particularly strong during this period. Pitched roofing products were also in high demand in the rush to get units watertight ahead of the Christmas break. This was also true of the hot-melt flat roofing sector which services low-rise residential development.
Elsewhere, in built up roofing (BUR) major projects experienced a seasonal slowing as projects finish and new starts are not scheduled until after the holiday period. Contractors specialising in multi-discipline major flat roofing projects also reported enquiry levels tailing off a little as client confidence weakened.
As the ink dries on the Brexit paperwork, we wait in anticipation as civil servants and politicians thrash out the trade deals that will keep our clients investing, developers developing and our construction industry buoyant in the years ahead. Either way, long-established British businesses that continue to invest in manufacturing in the UK are here to support your roofing needs.