62nd UFEMAT Conference 2022 - London
29 Apr 2022
Crest Building Products were delighted to co-sponsor the 62nd UFEMAT conference in London. It was the turn of the UK to host this annual 3-day special event where this year’s hospitality was organised by the BMF who welcomed guests from all over the UK and Europe. The UFEMAT Congress brings together builders’ merchants, building material suppliers and trade bodies from across Europe. This year’s event takes the theme, European Unity in a Digital Age, whose CEO, John Newcomb is the current UFEMAT President.
Presidents, directors, sponsors and guests got the event underway at the Royal Horseguards Hotel, on Thursday 28th April. They emphasised the idea that going digital not only makes the business more attractive to customers and staff but also drives discipline in all parts of a business, improving processes and building resilience
The keynote speaker of the event was Sports Psychologist Michael Caulfield who entertained the audience with his experience of working with major athletes and sports teams. Igor Dalichuk, CEO of SBK, Ukraine’s largest brick manufacturer, also shared his first-hand experiences of the devastations the Russian invasion has brought to his country and his business, this received a standing ovation from the delegates.
Crest's Arnold van Huet delivers his presentation on the benefits of joining UFEMAT
Keynote speaker for the conference Michael Caulfield
Arnold van Huet managing director of Crest Building Products was another guest speaker delivering a presentation on “the benefits of UFEMAT”. As members of UFEMAT, Crest has developed strong working relationships with its European manufacturing partners, and is committed to supporting and working alongside its European business partners.
The delegates were given a guided tour of the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, and of the NFL away team and Spurs changing rooms, and also a site visit to a Lawson’s branch, in Camden Town. At the evening gala dinner, Dalichuk and his fellow Ukrainian delegate Irina Salli of the Ukraine Union, Manufacturers & Merchants, were presented with £45,500, the result of fundraising by the BMF, for the Disasters Emergency Committee’s work in Ukraine.
A further £10,000 was raised during the dinner, which with the addition of €15,000 from UFEMAT’s members’ appeal, brought the total raised by the industry to support the people of the Ukraine to over €81,250 (£68,350).
The events aim was to foster closer cross-continent links and understanding within the merchanting industry, which It did at a pivotal moment, as the world emerges from the pandemic, and it was highlighted by our Ukrainian colleague’s unity is now more important than ever.
