PBM reports on some of the latest news from Siniat, including its recruitment drive both for new staff and for merchants to take on some exciting new additions to its product portfolio.
As the recovery in construction continues, it has been a fruitful period for Siniat, with the Bristol-based manufacturer reporting that it is upping its recruitment efforts — with some 28 positions now available with the company — following a string of new business wins.
Since the turn of the year, the business — which currently employs in the region of 410 staff — has secured a number of landmark projects to add to its portfolio, including a contract with Interserve to deliver on five new schools, a £1 million project with Galliard Homes to deliver fire retardant plasterboard to a new development on the Isle of Dogs, London, and a partnership with McLaren to support Banbury Gateway — a new £80 million out-of-town shopping centre near Oxford.
It will also be working with Willmott Dixon on two separate projects — a £45 million redevelopment of Beneden Hospital in Maidstone which will include new medical facilities, new operating theatres and an MRI unit, and the delivery of a new ‘super school’ in Ceredigion which will accommodate 1,000 primary and secondary students.
“We’ve secured an enormous amount of new business already this year thanks to the quality of our products, and our proactive approach to solving our customer’s problems. This trend is likely to continue, with healthy growth expected in UK construction this year,” said Managing Director Neil Ash.
“If we’re making and selling more plasterboard across the UK, it’s a clear indicator that the construction market is on the up. We’re continually looking for bright new talent to help us continue to meet demand,” he added. “Our success comes from understanding the needs of our customers and developing products that make their lives easier and their businesses more efficient.”
Siniat is also reflecting on its success in securing a number of recent industry accolades. For instance, the company has been named Supplier of the Year 2014 by Buildbase with the merchant group commending “its leading levels of technical support and excellent product quality.”
The award, which is decided through a robust and independently verified process, takes into account suppliers’ support, responsiveness and administration processes at a regional level. The national Supplier of the Year is then distilled from the regional winners.
Buildbase’s Commercial Director Paul Roche said: “We named Siniat our Supplier of the Year 2014 because of the excellent technical support it provides to our branches. Siniat understands Buildbase, and reacts quickly and effectively whenever necessary. Product quality also plays a role in the decision making process, and Siniat’s products are extremely well put together.”
The manufacturer has also been endorsed by trade customers following initial trials of its newly-launched powder compound range with 100% of builders rating it higher than their previously preferred brand.
The GTEC IT range was developed specifically to simplify the process of filling, jointing and patching, and received praise for its workability, quick setting, smoothness and versatility. Product Manager Richard Wigley said: “We developed IT to make things easier. We spoke with builders and decorators directly to fully understand what they wanted from compound fillers, so we could precisely match each product in the range to their requirements. The GTEC IT range is easy to mix, incredibly workable, sets quickly and blends in against white walls making decorating easy.
“Traditionally, plasterboard joints use two products, one to bed and fill the joint and a second to provide an easy-to-sand finish. Joint IT combines the process into one bag. The decorator or builder can get in and out of a job within a single day because the mixing, working and drying time is tailored to the project size and massively reduced compared to traditional jointing methods.”
The GTEC IT range includes:
- Joint IT — used for bedding, filling and finishing tapered plasterboard joints, general filling and large patch repairs;
- Fill IT — suitable for snagging and general repair work;
- Patch IT — a self-adhesive perforated aluminium patch reinforced with glass fibre, suitable for use with Fill IT to repair large holes in plaster or plasterboard.
“The branding is intentionally simple to save the builder or decorator time on the shop floor. The variety of sizes available means that builders working on smaller projects are not forced to buy any more compound than necessary,” added Richard. “And even if users misjudge the required quantity, they can always keep it in the van for the next job — IT products have a shelf life several months longer than the average commercial compound filler.”
Earlier in the year, Buildbase and Selco became the first to stock another innovative new range from Siniat. The Bulldog system is a value range of metal frames designed to offer builders an alternative to timber on cost conscious domestic projects which is said to be ideal for aesthetic and basic renovations, promising to half installation times compared with timber.
Dave Palmer, Buildbase Customer Marketing Director, said: “Timber framing has always been popular for stud walls but we are receiving more and more enquires from builders wanting to use metal frame systems. It’s a solution that’s delivering better and more consistent results, faster. We’re expecting an increase in demand through 2015 from builders who are helping homeowners to prepare their properties for sale or make improvements.”
Simon Watkins, Training Manager for Siniat, added: “Using metal to create partition walls, linings and suspended ceilings is common in commercial projects — giving a tough finish within tight deadlines. This new value range opens up the market to smaller builders working on domestic projects. Not only does Bulldog half installation times compared with timber, the framing is much lighter to handle. It’s also cheaper and doesn’t warp in the wet — making it perfect for old properties and damp environments. Locked together with screws and plasterboard to form a system, a metal frame wall is as solid as timber and offers the same acoustic performance.”
Merchants can find out more about Bulldog or enquire about becoming a stockist by visiting www.siniatbulldog.co.uk.
