In the days leading up to Thursday’s GlassTalk event, I had it in my mind that this would be the final GlassTalk I would be involved in. It takes a lot of work in the background making arrangements and promoting the event with no financial reward for myself, Andrew, Paul and Jon.
And, as I’ve explained on here before I’m trying to make better use of my time in the future. I decided to see how the event went and make my mind up afterwards about my future involvement.
So, how did it go?
Well, the main reason people attend GlassTalk is for networking, and this time we probably had the best range of individuals taking part. Industry leaders from a variety of systems companies mixed with the owners of some of the most successful installers and fabricators in the UK. I personally made some great new contacts (too many to list here) and caught up with some old friends.
Paul Godwin always says that to have a really successful event you need a punch up, and the lack of punch ups at Glassex towards the end, was one of the factors in its decline. I’m not sure about this and I’m pleased to announce that the various competitors managed to mix with each other in harmonious unity, and a desire to make our industry better.
While you get to talk to lots and lots of people by the nature of the random speed networking tables, unfortunately there were people I hoped to talk to but didn’t get the chance.
The ‘On The Couches’
Well, this time we had ‘on the chair’ sessions, as we forgot to organise the couches. Ooops!
I was worried about the first ‘on the couch’ session about the CIS scheme, as tax can be a pretty boring topic at the best of times. However, I think that the installers in the audience were generally pleased with the conclusion – that with a well constructed contract with self employed fitters will allow companies to keep these staff within the CIS scheme.
The second session provided the systems companies with an opportunity to fight back after the criticism from Dave Ruzicka from Sash UK at the last GlassTalk event. David Leng from Synseal and Jon Skinner from Deceuninck discussed the role of systems companies in the UK market, and particularly why some phoenix fabricators have been resupplied in the past.
When Paul offered questions from the floor an impassioned Robert Foy from Centuryseal stood up to argue for improved standards, tighter credit controls and a concerted effort for companies to raise their prices.
The final ‘on the couch’ was always likely to be potentially heated with Giles Willson from the BFRC, Kevin Ahern from Osprey Windows (a fierce critic), Epwin Group’s David Hurst and David Wrigley. And strong opinions both for and against were expressed.
Whilst, I’m not sure that those ‘on the couch’ have changed their views, I think a clear signal was reached from the floor. It is now time to stop arguing about the pros and cons of the scheme, and get behind it. The vast majority of those in the room felt that the Window Energy Rating Scheme is a massive opportunity for a beleaguered industry.
Evening / Comedians
After the WERs debate there was time for one final speed networking session. With around half of the attendees staying the night and attending the evening buffet and entertainment there was yet more opportunity to network more informally.
I completely missed both the comedians we had hired as I was far too busy smoking and drinking, but I do understand one of the guys bombed big-style. We may need to have a rethink about the type of entertainment we have for future events.
Anyway, I have three main roles as part of my involvement with the GlassTalk team:
- Pestering people to attend the event via email, and writing about it on this website.
- Hammering directional signs in the grounds of whichever hotel we’re staying at during the morning of the event.
- Staying up till the end to make sure everyone gets to bed safely.
So, it’s not really too much work, is it? Am I getting involved again? Of course, I am!
And I look forward to getting back together with Andrew, Jon and Paul to start planning the next event.
Please let us know what you thought, and any advice you can give us to make future events even more successful.
And a massive thank you to everyone who attended!
