Klober survey reveals ‘The Big Roofing Issues’

Availability and lack of stock remains the number one issue for roofing installers in the UK, as highlighted by the latest third-party research commissioned by Klober.

Two hundred roofing installers were surveyed about their profession, buying behaviours and the key challenges they are facing in the industry, with almost a third saying availability was their biggest issue. Recruitment and lack of skilled labour was a close second in the Klober survey, with 22% stating this as their main challenge. Similarly, this has been coined the number one issue by some construction bodies.

Moreover, the number of workers in UK construction in Q1 2022 was 263,000 lower than in the same quarter of 2019, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

In terms of behaviours, roofing contractors showed signs of returning to pre-Covid purchasing habits with a 11% increase in face-to-face purchasing from Klober’s 2021 research – from 78% to 89% respectively.

When deciding on which roofing products to use, the majority of roofers mainly rely on their own experience. However, this has decreased from 82% to 68% since 2021, whereas there has been an increase in contractors wanting to seek support from suppliers such as Klober or merchant staff – from 68% to 74%. And there has also been an 11% increase in them looking to a supplier’s or merchant’s website – from 29% to 40% respectively.

Merchant survey

Alongside contractors and installers, Klober also conducted a similar exercise with merchants for the first time. Of 194 merchant staff, 71% state availability as the main issue.

Actions are now being taken by the business to respond to these challenges, with particular focus being placed on availability. As well as recently expanding storage in its distribution centre, Klober says it has always prioritised retaining as much control over its product as possible to protect its customers.

Marketing Director Pauline Manley said: “Although it’s a challenging time for industry, and this research clearly highlights this, we are proud to be part of the BMI Group which enables us to retain more control over our end-to-end supply chain. Having a considerable number of manufacturing plants throughout Europe means we can be versatile in our manufacturing arrangements, at the same time as ensuring effective and consistent product supply.”