The industry famous Heating Installer Awards is underway, and the countdown is on as entries close on the 8^th February.

The scheme calls on tradespeople who go above and beyond for their customers to share their stories, giving installers the chance to show particular standout projects and examples of stellar service.

Sponsored by Danfoss, Geberit, Glow-worm, Polypipe and Stelrad, and media partnered with Installer magazine, the awards are free to enter and offer prizes up to the value of £10,000, including a coveted trip to Danfoss HQ in Denmark, Stelrad store credit, an Apple watch, a nextbase 412GW Dash Cam, asbestos training and so much more.

Shaun Scott, Heating Installer Awards winner 2018, spoke about what the awards have done for him and his business. Shaun said: “The awards have massively helped the business, particularly from a customer relationship point of view. People know they will get a good quality of work, they trust me and recommend me. I noticeably get a lot more people approaching me, and a lot more enquiries are converting into business.”

After entries close, the next stage of the competition will involve an expert judging panel, made up of industry professionals, reviewing each entry and deciding 11 regional finalists. The judges’ scores for the finalists will then be carried forward to the next round, which, for the first time, will also include a peer-reviewed, response-to-scenario technical challenge. The finalists’ scores for this, together with a public vote and judges’ scores, will decide the national winner.  The lucky winner will be announced at Installer2019, where 2018 champion, Shaun Scott, from Scotland, will hand over his crown.

The awards offer plumbers the opportunity engage with other plumbers and businesses that they may not previously have had contact with, to receive more business, and give their customers extra assurance through the association with the awards.

To enter, plumbers and heating installers should visit www.heatinginstallerawards.co.uk and complete the short form detailing a project they are particularly proud of. To hear more about the awards, follow @HIAwards on Twitter or find us on by searching for Heating Installer Awards over on Facebook.

Polypipe Group Information Services Director, Mike McKay, has been fencing since the age of 14.

Having represented Scotland when he was younger on the Open circuit, including the Open Commonwealth Championships in Canada in 1994, Mike is the current overall British Veteran Champion and 50-59 Age Group British Champion in Fencing.

Mike has spoken to us about two major championships that he competed in last year.

World Championships

In October of last year, I was selected for the individual (for the second consecutive year) and team events, to represent Great Britain in the 50-59 Age Group of Men’s Foil at the Veteran Fencing World Championships in Livorno, Italy.

Mike McKay

Having won bronze in 2017 I had hopes of a good result in the individual event. I made a great start in the preliminary rounds winning 6 out of 6 fights and then my first elimination bout, in the next round I unfortunately lost out to a Swedish fencer in a very tight bout 4-3 in extra time. This meant I finished 18^th out of 70 competitors from 26 countries who took part.

The following day was my first-time taking part in the team event. The format is unique to the World Championships, bringing together a team of 6 covering the 3 age group categories for each weapon i.e. two fencers from each age category. Each age category fences twice in a 6 leg relay up 30 hits. Each leg also has a time limit of 3 minutes meaning scores can be lower if time runs out. GBR was seeded 1^st having gained two 2^nd places and a 5^th place across the three age groups in the individual event. Not all countries have enough fencers across the age groups to enter a team however 11 countries lined up to take part.

Although we were 1^st seed we ended up in a difficult preliminary group with Italy and Germany, traditionally very strong nations and previous winners. A strong win against Germany 30-22 and a very tight loss to Italy 22-21 in extra time meant we were seeded 6^th for the knock out stages.

At this point however we really stepped up our game. A crushing 30-9 first round win against Australia set the tone. This set up a quarter final against Italy and a chance to gain revenge for earlier in the day. Completely focused, we raced into an early lead which was never threatened and ran out comfortable 29-15 winners. Next up was USA who had beaten Hungary, bronze medallists in 2017, however another strong showing brought a 30-22 victory to take GBR into the final to face Russia.

The final was very close up to the 4^th leg when GBR managed to pull out a 4-hit lead which was maintained into the 5^th leg. Russia then staged a comeback to bring the scores within 1 point at 24-25 leading to a few nerves on the GBR bench however a final effort once again took GBR away from the Russians to win 30-24 and become World Champions!

Back Row L to R           Tony Bartlett, Paul Wedge, Kola Abidogun, Graham Paul

Front Row L to R          Brian Causton, Gillian Aghajan (President of BVF), Mike McKay

Commonwealth Championships

At the end of November I travelled to Canberra in Australia to take part in the Commonwealth Veteran Fencing Championships to represent Scotland. Unlike the World Championships this is an open Veteran event where all age groups compete against each other, although there is a medal for the best in each age category.

As with the Commonwealth Games the event is staged every 4 years and only sports which have previously been part of a full Commonwealth Games can hold a Commonwealth Championship, (fencing was last in the Commonwealth Games in 1970 but there has been a Commonwealth Championship every 4 years since then).

Mike McKay

In the individual event I managed to win 5 out of 5 fights in the preliminary round to be seeded 2^nd for the elimination rounds. This earned me a bye through the first round of elimination to then meet a New Zealander in the round of 32. A 10-2 win set up a meeting with an Australian in the round of 16 who was despatched 10-4. In the Quarter Final I then had to fight the reigning Commonwealth Champion, another Australian, whom I had beaten at the recent World Championships. A strong performance resulted in a 10-5 win to guarantee a medal and a semi-final against yet another Australian, the silver medallist from 2014. This was a far closer affair where I had to come back from a 5-2 deficit in the early stages of the fight. A change of weapons and an improvement in concentration turned this around and allowed me to take the bout 10-8 and progress to the final against one of my Scottish team mates, Nick Mort, who had beaten another Scot, Paul Stanbridge, in the other semi-final.

The final was a classic to and fro with neither of us being able to pull out a decisive lead or dominate as we knew each other’s fencing so well. Unfortunately, I came agonisingly close, losing the fight 10-9 to end up with the silver medal. There was some consolation however as I won the Gold medal for being the best in the 50-59 Age Group.

The next day we had the team event for which Scotland were seeded 1^st having taken Gold, Silver and Bronze in the individual event. As an open event this follows the standard team format with 3 fencers per team and 9 relay legs up to a score of 45. With no preliminary rounds and a bye to the semi-final there was limited chance of a warm up however we managed to beat New Zealand emphatically 45-14 to set up a final match against the auld enemy England!

New Zealand competitor Arthur Gatland competing against Mike 

This was a really close match with only a few hits in it right up to the 7^th leg when Scotland pulled out a 4-hit lead which was maintained until we went into the final leg. From 40-36 up it was my job to reach 45 before my opponent (a double World Champion at 60-69 age group), or at least be ahead of him at the end of time. The bout went all the way almost to full time. At 16 seconds to go he had closed to within 1 hit at 42-43. With 10 seconds to go I made it 44-42 but again he came back and with 6 seconds left it was 44-43 to Scotland. In the final action we attacked at the same time and fortunately for me there was only one light – I had managed it and Scotland had won 45-43 with just 5 seconds left.

Scottish Team (L to R) Kevin Milne, Mike McKay, Paul Stanbridge (back), Nick Mort

It was a short but productive trip to the other side of the world bringing home 2 Gold medals & a Silver.

Mike's Silver and Gold Commonwealth medals

Find out more about Nigel Kennedy, an underfloor heating estimator and trainer for our BPEC accredited training at Polypipe Building Products.

What is your position at Polypipe and how long have you been there?

I am an underfloor heating estimator and I provide BPEC accredited training courses to our Registered Heating Engineers.

What does a typical day at Polypipe look like to you?

My days vary as I have a dual role. Some days I'm in the office, other days I am in our Professional Development Centre. I also travel to our Centre of Excellence in Kent to provide training for our southern heating engineers.

What are three words you associate with Polypipe?

Leaders, innovative & professional.

What is the best part of working for Polypipe?

It is a company that is a market leader in the industry it produces its products for. This gives an employee great comfort in the knowledge that not only is his/her job safe but also that there are great opportunities to grow.

What is your proudest moment at Polypipe?

There are two moments... completing my Higher National Certificate (HNC) in construction, and also joining the training team.

If a movie was made about your life, who would you like to see cast as you?

If a movie was made about me, I'd pick Ben Affleck to play me.

Where is your favourite place to go on holiday?

Mexico.

Tell us something about yourself that would surprise us?

I've broken over 14 bones, I've played the cornet in a brass band since I was 7 years old and I also play guitar and used to be in a rock band.

The IC600 range of inspection chambers is a safer and more cost-effective alternative to traditional concrete ring manholes for the maintenance or inspection of sewers or drains.

Designed for adoptable and non-adoptable domestic and commercial drainage systems, the range is manufactured from high quality polypropylene and is engineered to last.

The unique adaptor range simplifies choice allowing multiple configuration options for connections to Polysewer, Smoothwall PVCu and 150mm Vitrified Clay pipe.

Key Benefits

• Choice of six IC600 bases with straight through flow or cross tee configuration
• For use with 150/160mm, 225/250mm or 300/315mm pipe
• Choice of adaptors for pipe connection to Polysewer, Smoothwall PVCu and Vitrified Clay pipe
• Certified to EN 13476-2 and compliant with Sewers for Adoption 7^th edition
• Double skinned base for additional groundwater resistance
• Fully sealed for a water tight, tamper proof and low maintenance installation
• Light weight & strong for improved health and safety and easy handling, corrosion resistant
• High strength single piece 600mm diameter Ridgisewer SN8 riser
• Riser cap which can be adapted for reduced access for chamber depths of greater than 1.2m by using the UG514 restricted access reducer with Polypipe ductile iron covers and frames
• Riser cap directly compatible with the UG510 Polypropylene square cover and frame

Typical installation detail of the IC600 600mm Diameter Chamber (Subject to vehicle loading)

Polypipe is to become a principal sponsor of a new all-female competitive cycling academy.

The Doncaster-based manufacturer of plastic above and below ground drainage and water management systems will rekindle its long association with national cycling by backing the new Racescene Female Development Academy (RFDA) for the 2019 race season.

The RFDA is a Yorkshire-based female youth cycling team for young riders aged 12 to 16, who will be competing in regional and national road and town centre series races throughout 2019.

The riders will receive expert racing, nutritional and team management coaching with access to sports nutritionists and psychologists as the organisation looks to develop the female talent that can go on to compete in professional events.

Polypipe has a long history of supporting UK cycling teams, even owning its own racing team in the 2015-2016 season, and regularly enters teams to compete in amateur and charity cycle races in the UK and across Europe.

Polypipe will provide the academy with vital funding, marquees for shelter at the race events, and a range of marketing support to raise the profile and highlight the successes of the team during the season.

The RFDA has also teamed up with Mind (Rotherham & Barnsley), and will be promoting the mental health charity to highlight the pressures on young people across communities in Yorkshire.

Mick Dawes, team manager at the RFDA said:

“Women’s and youth cycling is on the rise, but the sport needs more females cycling in order to progress the sport. Our aim is to build an effective team ethos developed through regular training sessions, both in the UK and abroad, and developing links with a continental team. The dream would be for a graduate of our academy to compete at the highest levels, including the Olympics.

“We want to develop young cyclists by supporting them emotionally, mentally and physically. We aim to provide the opportunities to allow our riders to grow in confidence and excel not only in the sport of cycling, but in all aspects of their life.”

Glen Sabin, chief operating officer at Polypipe, added:

“As a Yorkshire-based business that employs significant numbers of people across the region, we are proud and excited to be backing this fantastic new initiative that will support the next generation of home grown athletes.

“Cycling is growing in popularity and participation at all levels, with the county coming together each year for the Tour de Yorkshire and I am delighted that Polypipe is able to take an active role in supporting talented young female cyclists who want to compete and excel at the highest levels in the sport.”

The RFDA will be officially launched Wednesday 6^th February in Leeds, and the team will be training and competing in races throughout Yorkshire and the wider UK during the 2019 season.

The long term goal for RFDA is to create an under-23 team and the academy is actively looking for people to work from the junior ranks through to senior competitions.

More information can be found here.

Business Development Director, Tariq Ahmad, and Warehouse Operative, Stefan Glova visited the City Plumbing Supplies (CPS) Distribution Centre recently in order to talk all things logistics.

The logistic centre is around 700,000 sq ft and carries 200 lines of various Polypipe products.

CPS were full of praise for all the work carried out by Stefan since he became their primary logistics contact. Stefan has worked with CPS to significantly improve vehicle load presentation – with no vehicle incidents since he took over; and has also led to sustaining ‘On Time In Full’ (OTIF) in the high 90’s!

It was great to meet with the team from City Plumbing Supplies and to see the facility in action. To find out more about City Plumbing Supplies visit here.

Polypipe Area Sales Managers Liz Langham and Hannah Simpson attended Doncaster Races recently with the team from the Anlaby branch of MKM in order to support a race sponsored by Polypipe.

Congratulations to PRABENI & Jeramiah McGrath, for trainer Charlie Mann (@Neardownstables) who came first in the Polypipe novice hurdles!

Branch Director Glenn Paddison is pictured above presenting the trophy to Charlie along with Hannah, Liz and the rest of the team from the MKM branch.

Photograph courtesy of Doncaster Racecourse. PRABENI & Jeramiah McGrath take the lead.

If you don’t frequent our social media feeds or haven’t browsed our website in a while, you may not have heard us talk about the fact that Polypipe has the only traps range on the market with Kitemark™ Accreditation. This is why March will be a ‘traps focus month’ across our social media channels.

Well “what does that mean?” we hear you ask…

Provided by the British Standards Institution, the Kitemark Accreditation is an assurance that you can rely on the quality you’ve come to expect from Polypipe. The Kitemark means that our traps have had to undergo a series of tests that other manufacturers do not. One such test is called the ‘Thermal Cycling Test’.

Here, Above Ground Product Manager Paul Jackson, explains what the brutal test involves.

Fit-Rite

We have invested significantly in the manufacturing process of our traps which means the range is stronger and more robust than ever. We are constantly working to improve our products and systems to help make your job as simple as possible, which is why our traps range have been engineered to incorporating our unique Fit-Right insertion aid technology.

Polypipe WP46 Bottle Trap

The Fit-Rite insertion aid has been developed to ensure the right fit every time. Their flexibility makes them ideal for use within existing pipework systems where the potential for movement may previously have given less than the perfect fit. The range is fully compatible with both ABS or push-fit pipes – meaning you can be confident of a perfect fit every time. And while fitting is easier, so is removal, helping you to move on to your next job sooner, rather than later.

Help for Heroes

Members of Polypipe from our Neale Road site in Doncaster following the launch of our charity partnership with Help for Heroes.

Improved seal performance ensures that are traps are leak tight in operation, and what’s more, a percentage of the sales from one of our best-selling products (the WP46 bottle trap) is donated to our charity partner, Help for Heroes. The WP46 is endorsed by the charity and with each unit you purchase, you will be contributing to a great cause.

BioCote Technology

A comparison of a Polypipe trap with BioCote technology versus a standard plastic trap.

Our traps have built-in BioCote antimicrobial technology as standard. No other traps range on the market gives you this. BioCote technology resists Bacteria, combats odours and protects against blockages, viruses and mould build up, which means added customer benefits, as standard.

Over and above, it has to be Polypipe.

Keep an eye on our social channels using the hashtag #PPAG to see the posts from this month and our previous Above Ground feature months.

Find us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn.

To see the rest of our traps range, click here.

Polypipe was given a royal seal of approval last week during a visit by HRH the Princess Royal to their manufacturing site at Neale Road in Doncaster.

The Princess was escorted on Friday, February 22 on a guided tour of one of the FTSE 250-listed multinational’s manufacturing sites in Doncaster, Yorkshire, by Polypipe Chief Executive Officer Martin Payne, Chief Operating Officer Glen Sabin and Polypipe Building Products Managing Director Cameron McLellan.

HRH the Princess Royal with Polypipe Building Products Managing Director Cameron McLellan

Other dignitaries included Doncaster Central MP Dame Rosie Winterton and Andrew Coombe, Lord Lieutenant of South Yorkshire, who coordinated the event with Buckingham Palace to showcase the town’s business successes.

The 85-minute visit included seeing Polypipe’s market-leading training and moulding facilities in action, and a talk on the history of the business and its sustainability objectives.

Her Royal Highness also unveiled a plaque to commemorate her attendance before she was handed a bouquet of flowers by Mr McLellan’s daughters, Charlotte, aged twelve, and eight-year-old Isabelle.

HRH the Princess Royal with Polypipe Chief Executive Officer Martin Payne

Mr Payne said: “We are naturally delighted to have welcomed the Princess Royal to our site. She spent time chatting with our staff, learning about our training facilities and our use of cutting-edge technology.”

The visit was part of a whistle-stop tour of the town, which also included a trip to the National College for High Speed Rail, to, according to a spokesperson for the royal, experience Polypipe’s “advanced and integrated manufacturing process, including an interesting mix of local labour, robotics, manufacturing integration and excellence, and environmental consciousness (recycling waste plastic).”

HRH the Princess Royal with Polypipe Building Products Managing Director Cameron McLellan

Mr Payne added that that the visit further strengthens Doncaster’s reputation as a blossoming hub of enterprise.

“Doncaster has developed a thriving business community and we are incredibly proud to be a part of the town’s progress,” he said.

“The Princess’s visit is testament to hard work and success of the many flourishing companies we have here.”

It was the 31st time a royal has visited Doncaster since the turn of the century, including in 2007 when the Prince of Wales met victims and emergency services staff affected by the devastating flooding across South Yorkshire.

The Princess Royal is a regular visitor to Doncaster, having made an annual trip over the last four years.

(L-R) HM Lord Lieutenant of South Yorkshire Andrew Coombes, Polypipe Building Products Managing Director Cameron McLellan & HRH the Princess Royal

Dame Rosie said: “I am delighted that Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal is visiting Polypipe, one of Doncaster’s most successful companies.

“I am especially pleased that she will be meeting not only staff but also learners and apprentices – the workforce of the future.

“Polypipe has played a key role in Doncaster’s economy and has a worldwide reputation as a leading manufacturing company.”

Polypipe develops sustainable, engineered water management and climate management solutions for the built environment. The company operates across 18 sites in the UK, Italy and the Middle East, employs over 3,000 staff with an annual turnover of more than £412million.

Find out more about Matthew Remai, an Polypipe Underfloor Heating Project Consultant at Polypipe Building Products.

What is your position at Polypipe and how long have you been there?

Project Consultant for UFH - 5 months so still quite a newbie.

What does a typical day at Polypipe look like for you?

Talk with our customers/merchants, chase up outstanding quotes, prevent the merchants from speaking to the competition.

Be the central point of contact for the customer from the beginning of their UFH enquiry, till the job is won and the sale is complete.

If they're not talking to me, they're talking to somebody else!

What are three words you associate with Polypipe?

Quality. Longevity. Team Work.

What is the best part of working for Polypipe?

Working within a team of genuine people.

What is your product moment at Polypipe?

Completing my training and being able to contribue to the team properly.

If a movie was made about your life, who would you like to see cast as you?

If a movie was made about my life, James Franco or Seth Rogan would be the guys to play it!

Where is your favourite place to go on holiday?

So far... Las Vegas!

Tell us something about yourself that would surprise us?

Way back in the day, I was a choir boy! I've sang as part of the RSCM (Royal School of Church Music) choir which included:

- A Rememberance Day service at the Royal Albert Hall (circa 2002 ish)

- The Queen Mothers 100th birthday celebration

Polypipe Underfloor Heating are returning to the Homebuilding and Renovating Show at the Birmingham NEC this year, from the 28th to the 31st of March, to talk to homeowners about all things underfloor heating.

Our stand at the show will give homeowners the chance to ask all of their burning questions surrounding UFH, and for our team to quash any of those myths that we continue to hear such as 'We can't have UFH upstairs' or 'Well we'd have to dig up our floors and we don't want to do that.'

Home Automation

The show will also give consumers a sneak peek at our newest range of UFH controls that will be launching in May, which are compatible with home automation technology such as Google Home, Apple Home and Amazon Alexa.

Specialist Stockists

Also exhibiting at the show will be one of our Polypipe Underfloor Heating specialist stockists, Bell Plumbing Supplies, to help visitors with quotes for projects and placing orders. Our specialist stockists have been on our BPEC accredited training course at our Professional Development Centre, which means they know exactly what they are talking about when it comes to the Polypipe range of UFH solutions. They can give you the best help and advice about our products before you make any decisions on what system to use in your project.

What's more, if you go on to purchase Polypipe Underfloor Heating from one of our specialist stockists, having been at the show and picked up on of our leaflets, you will receive 30% off your order!

So what are you waiting for, click the image below to get two free tickets to the show!

Click the image above to get your two free tickets now.

Find out more about Mick Hirst, Shift Foreperson and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Ambassador at Polypipe Building Products.

What is your position at Polypipe and how long have you been there?

I started at Polypipe 1^st April 1987. I’m a shift foreperson in the moulding shop but double up as STEM ambassador visiting schools and colleges to encourage the take up of these subjects. I also visit schools and careers events to explain to students what we do at Polypipe, how we do it and what we do it with

What does a typical day at Polypipe look like for you?

There isn’t a typical day for me at Polypipe, every day is different

What are three words you associate with Polypipe?

Forward-looking, busy, friendly.

What is the best part of working for Polypipe?

The people; I have met some terrific characters here.

What is your proudest moment at Polypipe?

Representing the company externally at places as diverse as China, Hastings and Cambridge University.

What keeps you busy at the weekends?

I am a keen gardener so weekends are allotment time, whilst keeping an eye on the Sheffield United score.

Where is your favourite place to go on holiday?

A cruise ship, Iceland or the next place I visit...

Tell us something about yourself that would surprise us?

In my younger days I was a keen potholer and played schools rugby for South Yorkshire.

I am also a big fan of 'Father Ted'. The picture below is Father Ted's house in Ireland which I visited for a tour of filming locations from the show.

In October of 2018, Polypipe Regional Sales Manager Gary Foord, together with a team from Wolseley UK took part in the Challenge Adventure Charities 'Annecy Challenge'.

The challenge, made up of 3 stages covering a distance of 510 miles from Rouen to Annecy, was to raise funds for Challenge Adventure Charities (CAC) along with Polypipe and Wolseley's own charities of choice.

For Polypipe this was our charity partner, Help for Heroes.

The team was made up of Gary (Polypipe), Keith Driscoll (Wolseley UK), Charl Van Vuuren (Bloor Homes) and Stephen (Sammy) Shipton (SB Shipton GW).

Following some fantastic fundraising efforts, the 'Annecy Challenge', and another of the CAC Challenges, the 'Pyrenees Challenge', have raised a brilliant £147,612 for charity! This took the total raised and donated to other charities by CAC to £4,319,731.

Polypipe have been proudly associated sponsors with CAC since the 2012 'Beaune Challenge'. We would to give special mention and thanks to Stuart and Tom Mason-Elliott and all at the CAC for all of their tireless hard work.

The Polypipe/Wolseley team raised £3,141 meaning that when split between our chosen charities meant a fantastic £1,600 donation to be made to Help for Heroes in the name of Polypipe Building Products.

Gary and the team from Wolsely will also be taking in this years 'Mont Ventoux' Challenge. You can find out more about this here.

On Saturday the 23^rd of March, some of Yorkshire’s most promising cyclists led Doncaster residents on a free community cycle ride to celebrate Polypipe becoming principle sponsors of the Racescene Female Development Academy (RFDA) and to encourage residents to keep fit.

RFDA is a new racing team set up to develop the county’s leading female junior cyclists. Riders of all ages and abilities were encouraged to take part in the 24-mile route around Doncaster.

The day started out with a tour of our Neale Road manufacturing site so they could see what Polypipe was all about.

The RFDA team were split into two groups and given a tour of Polypipe Building Products Neale Road site.

Following the site tour Team Principle Richard Maxwell and Head Coach Billy Geraghty presented Chief Operating Officer for Polypipe Group, Glen Sabin and General Manager for Underfloor Heating, Rachel Smith, with team jerseys for us to display across our Polypipe sites (pictured top).

The ride began at the Neale Road site, continuing via Barnby Dun, Thorpe-in-Baine, Braithwaite, Kirkhouse Green, Sykehouse and Fishlake before looping back to Braithwaite and Barnby Dunn.

The route that the community ride took.

RFDA team principal Richard Maxwell said,

“The ride was the perfect opportunity for people of all ages and abilities to test their skills against Yorkshire’s top athletes, make new friends and enjoy some outdoor exercise. It is vital that everyone looks after their health by doing more physical activity. If this ride inspires even just one person to get fitter, it would have served its purpose.”

Chief Operating Officer at Polypipe, Glen Sabin, said,

“We are delighted to be sponsoring such a talented group which I have no doubt have very big futures ahead of them.”

Chief Operating Officer Glen Sabin starts the community ride.

Whilst at the event, we managed to get an update from 3 of the RFDA girls to see how they were progressing and what they were looking forward to in the rest of the cycling season this year.

April is plastic plumbing month across the @polypipetrade social media accounts, so in this blog post we wanted to highlight the wide range of advantages that plastic plumbing can offer compared to traditional materials such as copper.

Tamper proof solutions

In many locations, such as public buildings and shared residential developments, guarding against malicious damage and theft is high on the list of priorities. For these applications we offer a complete range of PolySure fittings designed to fit fast and hold fast.

Reducing site hot works

Soldering and welding on site has long been the accepted way to create watertight joints in plumbing systems. Now however you can leave the blow torch in the van.

Plastic push-fit offers massive benefits in terms of speed, efficiency and integrity thanks to their light weight and near-instant speed of fit.

No more hot works also means less chance of burns and reduced risk of fire - which makes plastic a safer bet.

Secure but releasable fittings

When a joint needs to be tamper-proof but may need to be removed, choose PolyFit - our range of fittings that can be quickly demounted by hand.

PolyFit features a one step jointing operation for quick and easy installation. They system can be used on a wide range of contract and retrofit projects, including hot and cold water systems, and is particularly suitable for first fix installations.

Reducing theft from site

Our residential pipes and fittings are irresistible to installers and specifiers in terms of convenience, speed of installation and reliability, but they're not as attractive to thieves.

Because they're not constructed from Copper, their low scrap value minimises chance of theft to save you inconvenience and expense.

You can follow @polypipetrade on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn to keep up with the conversation.

Jackie Feeley, Head of Accounts Services at Polypipe Building Products, is to attempt her 2^nd marathon this year in London to raise funds for Cancer Research UK.

Jackie completed her first marathon in October of 2017 and has set herself the goal of completing the London Marathon in under 5 hours, ‘slow and steady’.

To support Jackie and Cancer Research UK visit her Just Giving page.

The 2019 Women Installers Together (WIT) Conference will take place later this year on July 4th and Polypipe Building Products are once again proud to be event partners.

Organisers of WIT 2019 are delighted to announce that the conference’s headline speaker will be Maggie Alphonsi MBE. The face of international women’s rugby and arguably one of the most well-known names in women’s team sports on the planet. Maggie represented her country an impressive 74 times, won a World Cup and helped England win a record breaking seven consecutive Six Nations crowns.

In 2015, after ’retiring’ from rugby, Maggie became the first ever former female player to commentate on men’s international rugby when she was signed up by ITV for the Rugby World Cup. She certainly understands what it’s like to excel in a male dominated job.

Hattie Hasan, powerhouse behind the conference says,

“This year’s conference looks set to be the best one yet. We’re delighted to welcome new sponsors and very excited that Maggie Alphonsi is going to share her stories with us. Can’t wait!”

Polypipe will once again be donating the grand raffle prize of a stay in a luxury cabin with Polypipe UFH. Here’s a comment from last year’s winner, Kerry.

“Thank you so much for our holiday. Me and my family had a lovely time. It was much needed and much appreciated.”

Kerry and her family on their prize trip to the Cabin complete with Polypipe Underfloor Heating.

The percentage of women plumbers is still one of the lowest of all jobs at around 1% and female gas engineers are estimated at around 500 out of 100000.

The WIT Conference is the only event of it’s kind in UK and is a celebration of the women plumbers succeeding. It is supported by several major companies in the plumbing industry and is now in it’s third year.

For more information about Stopcocks go here https://stopcocks.uk.

For tickets and information about the WIT Conference go here https://witconference2019.eventbrite.co.uk.

For more about Maggie Alphonsi go here https://maggiealphonsi.co.uk.

Polypipe Building Products were busy exhibiting at Installer Show this week at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.

With over 120 of the heating industry’s leading manufacturers all under one roof, Installer2019 is very much a must-visit event for heating and plumbing engineers.

The Polypipe stand was manned by Area Heating Managers Steve Reeves, Luke Greenwood and Chris Pritchard (L-R pictured above) and covered all things Polypipe - from our fantastic range of traps, to underfloor heating and our brilliant Registered Heating Engineer Network.

Shows like Installer are a great opportunity to meet some of the heating and plumbing engineers who we interact with throughout the year, either via merchants or online, and this year was no exception.

CGN Gas Services

Stewart of S.Phipps Gas, Heating and Plumbing with Pointy and George of PPH Plumbing and Heating

Paul Clark of Concept Plumbing and Heating

Glen of Heatspec, finalist for Heating Installer of the Year

Grant Gundelfinger, Director of Mayfly Group Ltd in Leeds, who was runner up for Heating Installer of the Year

We were also visited by the Stopcocks ladies who were busy exploring all the stands, several of whom were occupied by sponsors of the Women Installers Together conference, of which Polypipe Building Products are event partners. This year is the third instance of the conference. You can find out more about the event and the guest speaker for this year’s conference here.

During the event, Area Heating Manager Hannah Simpson (pictured below third from left) took part in a panel on the main stage for a debate on how to encourage more women into the industry. Alongside Hannah the panel featured Hattie Hasan (Founder of Stopcocks Women Plumbers) and a representative from Monument Tools, Calor Gas and JTL Training.

And of course, the event also resulted in the culmination and announcement of the winner of ‘Heating Installer of the Year’, of which Polypipe Building Products are proud sponsors. Pictured below are representatives from all the sponsors along with the finalists.

The Heating Installer of the Year was announced as Tony Dumble of @unequaledheatin (pictured below) - a well deserved winner! It was great to hear about the work of all the fantastic finalists and a really enjoyable few days at #Installer2019.

Find out more about Matthew Coombs, Technical Support Specialist at Polypipe Building Products.

What is your position at Polypipe and how long have you been there?

Technical Support Specialist and I have been here 4 years.

What does a typical day at Polypipe look like for you?

Check through the emails that come through for the morning/read up on any new products or literature while taking calls from our customer base.

What are three words you associate with Polypipe?

Teamwork, hard work, family.

What is the best part of working for Polypipe?

Amazing team to work with - lot's of variety in my work which never gets boring.

What is your proudest moment at Polypipe?

I won 'Employee of the Year' for the technical department in 2015.

If a movie was made about your life, who would you like to see cast as you?

Matthew Perry.

Where is your favourite place to go on holiday?

My favourite place was Japan. I went for my 30th birthday and it was an incredible experience. I visited Tokyo city, the mountans and natural hot springs and took the Bullet train to the old capital of Kyoto.

Tell us something about yourself that would surprise us?

I used to be a competitive swimmer!