We are delighted to welcome James Ferguson to the team as he takes up the position of National Sales Manager at IG Elements.

James will be responsible for IG Elements national housebuilder customers, working closely with them to develop and deliver profitable sales strategies across the UK.

James has been involved in sales and specification within the housebuilder and manufacturing industry for the last 9 years, his industry knowledge and expertise both professionally and personally make him the perfect candidate for his new role at IG Elements.

James commented “I am excited to take on this new opportunity with IG Elements and look forward to building strong relationships with customers and to promote our portfolio of GRP products”.

As part of the continued growth and investment plans, IG Elements, a leading GRP building component manufacturer has strengthened the Production and Commercial teams with the appointments of Richard Dolben and Shama Mahmood.

Richard Dolben has recently joined the business as Production Director. Richard has over 20 years of management experience, gained at companies including Jeld Wen to draw upon. In his new role, Richard will be responsible for the management of IG Elements’ two production facilities in Overseal and Woodville. Richard’s appointment reflects IG Elements’ plans to develop their production processes to ensure their customers receive the best service possible.

Shama Mahmood has recently been appointed as the Business Development Manager. Shama has been with IG Elements from August 2017 working as Operations Support and Customer Service. In her new role Shama will be responsible for maintaining and developing IG Elements growing customer base in the Eastern region of the UK.
Both Richard’s and Shama’s appointments reflect IG Elements ambitious plans to strengthen its reputation and expand its infiltration into the Private Development and Social Housing marketplaces.

The offsite construction sector accounts for an estimated 7% of total construction output in the UK, worth £1.5bn to the economy. Offsite technologies now have the potential to address some of the most persistent challenges facing the industry, including severe skills shortages and drive to eradicate risks to workers’ health and safety onsite.

The debate is now raging in the housing sector, where the Government’s plan to build two million homes by 2020 is thought to be unachievable without a rapid switch towards alternative construction methods.

For this reason house builders are working closely with manufacturers looking for solutions for a quicker build programme. Offsite technologies come in different shapes and complexities. The much reported skills shortage is a reality and while complete factory built or modular houses are not appearing in volume, the use of offsite components is now widespread.

Offsite is not being promoted as the answer to every situation because for some bespoke builds with a high degree of personalisation, factory built offsite solutions may not be cost effective. For many house builders however, new offsite options are delivering welcome advantages for both the designer and the client.

A dormer window would be a good example of a labour intensive task for a skilled joiner onsite and requires multiple trades to construct and finish it. Compare that process to a factory built dormer which can benefit from economies of scale and the process can be quality managed at every stage of production. The process to insulate the dormer in a factory environment for example is likely to result in a far superior finish without voids or gaps which could occur if insulated onsite leading in time to cold bridging problems.

In a tough market, first impressions count and offsite components can add considerable kerb appeal to volumetric housing. IG Elements provide a range of offsite solutions which will provide answers to the well documented skills shortage and the housing crisis.

Innovation

In an increasingly unpredictable world, we believe the best response is to focus on innovation which enhances the way we work and meets the challenges faced by the industry today.

Key challenge to close the gap between designed and built performance should feature heavily within the R&D team of any building material manufacturer. It is important that the construction industry delivers both the design quality and build quality of the architect’s vision, unhindered by an onsite shortage of skills or labour.

This is a challenge for construction material producers, to innovate and evolve simple-to-use products, which facilitate the efficient delivery of that vision.

Working in partnership with the house builders

At IG Elements, we are addressing these challenges through a process of continuous improvement and we always welcome feedback and engagement with housebuilders to understand their views and priorities.

Early engagement is important between a supplier and a house builder. If the supplier can be involved at design stages then it is more efficient and a simple and straightforward process to incorporate the details into drawing packages. It also ensures the products are developed to meet site requirements cost effectively but most importantly in a way that won’t threaten the original design.

At IG Elements, we take time to understand our customers and their build process and how best we can ensure the smooth running of the supply process. We liaise with the build teams at every stage of the process, from the pre-start meetings right through to after sales support.

Some of the feedback we have received from customers has resulted in enhancement to our service including new Site Support Packs and Minor Repair Kits which negate the need for call-out charges for minor onsite issues.

The future

We will continue to engage further and deeper with house builders who are looking for new solutions to their everyday needs in the face of changing demands. Ease of installation is vital as the labour market tightens and skills shortages mount. Our job is to innovate for easier installation, reducing the number of tasks to be completed onsite.

Predicting what 2018 has in store for our industry is a challenge but one thing for sure is that it will involve more change. At IG Elements, our response is to increase investment in innovation with a clear focus on making things easier and more efficient for house builders.

IG Elements is at the forefront of the offsite manufacturing sector and supply many of the UK’s leading house builders with a range of factory built components.

IG Elements may be a relatively new name to some in the trade but as MD Liam Kelly explains, the company is making its presence felt strongly across an increasingly impressive product range, bringing offsite benefits to builders across the UK from its base in Derbyshire.

How has 2017 been for IG Elements?

2017 has been a big year with over 40% growth as we have felt the full effects of the buoyant market. We are really proud of the customer service we are providing as we grow.
Our big push is to maintain the level of support we provide to our customers which we believe is above and beyond anything our competitors currently offer. We are taking a bespoke approach to what we do rather than just trying to bang out standard products.

This means we take time understanding our customers and their build process and how best we can ensure the smooth running of the supply process. We liaise with the build teams at every stage of the process, from our pre-start meetings right through to aftersales support.

Some of the feedback we have received from customers has resulted in enhancement to our service including new Site Support Packs and Minor Repair Kits which negate the need for call-out charges for minor onsite issues.

What are you investing in?

We are investing in new state of the art production techniques which will give customers an even greater level of consistency, making the installation process easier onsite. This type of product has historically been very labour intensive to produce, but with the labour market as it is now we are investing in more labour efficient production facilities.
By the end of this year we will have tripled our production capacity, leaving us ready to service our customer’s growth expectations.

What are your popular products?

Entrance canopies are the most popular product. The skills shortage is well documented and these products remove the need for skilled work onsite. We provide a number of flat, apex and curved canopies to suit a range of house types. I think the variety we provide helps to make these a very popular product.

That said we are experiencing growth across the board as builders increasingly see the benefit of taking elements like dormers and bays offsite, sometimes in the face of real quality problems with in situ built items. In the case of chimney stacks there really is no site built alternative to the quality and appearance of these lightweight items.

Why would builders choose IG over the alternative suppliers?

Buying offsite components is not like buying most other building materials. These are not standard stock products and they are bulky, so not ideally suited for storage onsite. This means the supplier must have excellent systems to ensure the correct manufacturing and call-off response.

Our approach to this gives our customers total assurance when placing their business with IG Elements that they know exactly where they stand in terms of cost, delivery and after sales support.

Where are the challenges in your business?

With rapid growth it’s normal to have some challenges in terms of production and maintaining the level of service customers have become accustomed to. We have addressed these issues by opening a new factory which will triple our capacity. Also, the provision of our Site Support Packs and Minor Repair Kits have helped to reassure our house builder partners of the seriousness with which we take their projects.

Getting the small detail right is the secret to success in these products. For example, with dormers, we have to deal with a range of different roof angles and pitches, varying sizes of windows etc. As dormers form a part of the building fabric we also need to ensure we meet building regulations with the correct level of thermal efficiency.

What’s next for IG Elements?

We have an ambitious 2020 plan and we are continuing to invest heavily in premises and improved services throughout the business as we diversify into other composite materials. We are also developing new products including a range of garage doors and sewage systems, which will see our portfolio of products increase significantly.

IG Elements is honoured to have won ‘Manufacturer of the Year’ at the Burton Mail Business Awards 2017, which took place at the Pirelli Stadium on Thursday, 19th October.

IG Elements is a rapidly expanding company with a bright future in the growing composites industry. We have a very specific 2020 vision and in order to fulfil this we have invested heavily in a new premises, to a raft of new staff and to improved services throughout the business.

We take time to understand our customers and their requirements, their build process and how we can partner with them to ensure the smooth running of this process for them. We constantly seek feedback and work to ensure we are always bettering ourselves and the service we provide.

Liam Kelly, IG Elements MD, commented;

“With so many outstanding businesses represented from across South Derbyshire and East Staffordshire, we are honoured to have won this award which recognises our commitment to the industry. We are continuing to invest in the business over the coming months and years to ensure our growth and dedication to manufacturing remains as strong as it has done over the last three years.”

IG Elements is delighted to have been shortlisted for ‘Manufacturer of the Year’ at the Burton Mail Business Awards 2017. IG Elements has expanded rapidly over the last 18 months, with improvements and expansion across the board, including production, increased sales, new marketing initiatives, innovative new products and a rising workforce.

Having outgrown our original production facilities, our second 60,000 sq ft production space in Woodville became fully operational on the 1st March this year, which has enabled us to triple our production capability. We are vastly increasing the number of moulds we are producing which has allowed us to improve the range of products in our portfolio, allowing us to service a greater number of projects for our customers.

We take time to understand our customers and their requirements, their build process and how we can partner with them to ensure the smooth running of this process for them. We constantly seek feedback and work to ensure we are always bettering ourselves and the service we provide.

Liam Kelly, IG Elements MD, commented;
“We have a very specific 2020 vision and in order to fulfil this we have invested heavily in our new premises, a raft of new staff and improved services throughout the business this year. We are continuing to invest in the business over the coming months and years to ensure our growth remains as strong as it has done over the last three years. We are therefore thrilled to be shortlisted in a category that recognises our commitment to the industry.”

The Burton Mail Business Awards evening will be held at the Pirelli Stadium on Thursday, 19th October in a glittering black tie event with all sponsors and finalists attending. We wish all finalists the best of luck on the day.

IG Elements has recently achieved Silver Status with the Supply Chain Sustainability School.

The school is a collaboration between major UK contractors and is designed to offer free training resources, networking events and action plans for suppliers across three learning areas – Sustainability, Management and Offsite.

As a GRP manufacturer, it was vital for us to become a member of the School, especially when it promotes the need for Offsite Solutions as a sustainable future in the house building industry. Achieving Silver Status actually takes us on par with some of the partners of the school, so this is a great recognition of the hard work we have put into achieving this.

IG Elements is committed to constantly improving and evolving as a supplier and we will use the resources available from SCSS to continue this.

Look out for us at some of the upcoming Construction events!

IG Elements is more than happy to announce the start of its newest member of staff, Priya Rai who joined the Technical Team earlier this month as a Design Engineer.

Priya joins us following her graduation from Loughborough University with a degree in Product Design. As part of her degree she completed a placement year at CPI Display in Leicestershire, which specialises in POS (Point of Sale) design in retail. Priya is looking forward to broadening her knowledge and skills in a completely different industry and construction will certainly do that.

Whilst at University Priya was part of the cheerleading squad and she is also a Black Belt in Karate. It looks like we may have found a new competitor for the intercompany KeyFit competitions within The Keystone Group.

As a graduate her first few months will be focused on Approval Packs, BOMs, Specification sheets and Standard Drawings making her a vital member of the team. All of us at IG Elements wish Priya the best of luck in the start of her new career.