I meet with many senior figures from within building product manufacturers who lament the need to drive innovation through their product portfolios.
Many large manufacturers agonise over pouring investment into R&D via marketing, technical and production to get the edge and still our industry is perceived to be lagging (way) behind others.
The below article gives an interesting flip on this perception.
If like me you are connected via LinkedIn with many leaders and follow companies in construction materials you will purr over some of the ways firms are tackling this issue (alternatives to tackling the brick shortage; lightweight alternatives to roofing by way of examples).
An often heard headache for manufacturers sales staff is the fact that specifiers revert back to their tried and tested products. Often product and manufactures names are penciled into the project before a more cost efficient, time saving or greener alternative is considered.
I, for one, applaud Rachael Appleyard for her comments.
Forticrete, part of Ibstock plc, is urging builders not to forget about alternatives to traditional building materials, following research by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), which highlighted rising prices. The FMB found price rises were squeezing margins, meaning builders were forced to pass the increase onto consumers.