National trade body the BMF (Builders Merchants Federation) has welcomed Mayor of the West Midlands, Richard Parker to its Coventry headquarters for discussions around regional growth, jobs and pressures facing the region’s building materials supply chain.
BMF CEO John Newcomb hosted the event, at which the Mayor highlighted a £75 million fund aimed at creating 12,000 jobs across the construction sector to help tackle regional shortages as part of his Building Growth Action Plan.
Jonathan Thacker, Co-owner and Operations Director at BMF member, The Walsall Wheelbarrow Company, was a guest at the event and joined discussions around the new UK steel tariffs and quotas which come into force this month.
John Newcomb said: “We were pleased to welcome Mayor Parker to the BMF and provide him with a first-hand look at the importance of the building materials supply chain to the West Midlands economy.
“We welcomed his assurances that he is identifying priority issues facing the region, including the impact of steel tariffs, which he intends to raise with senior figures in Westminster over the coming weeks as we anticipate a new Government.
“His focus on supporting skills jobs and real opportunity across our region, and his willingness to hear the concerns of our sector and individual members, align with our own ambitions to champion the UK building materials sector as well as the 49,000 people across the West Midlands who work within it.”
Nationally, the BMF represents more than 1,000 merchant, supplier and service companies who together have combined sales of c£52bn and employ just under 209,000 people.
In the West Midlands, the BMF has 108 members with a combined turnover of around £8.7bn.
