KBzine: the original kitchen and bathroom industry e-news - since 2002
13th December 2013
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  International News
Products Coram introduces shower tray collection for new Premier Range
 Save time and money with Space-Plug
New Elite mirrored doors and side panels from Simpsons Enclosures offer discreet showering
Modern Homes wins KBSA Small Business Saturday promotion
Tina is a worthy winner as not only did she share details of the event she is running in the showroom on Saturday with the KBSA but her business was also profiled on the Small Business Saturday Facebook page www.facebook.com, which has 8,409 likes! Astracast appoints Louise Craven to position of National Account Manager
Hansgrohe takes the headache out of selecting the optimum shower experience
Ellis Furniture launches Reflection Gloss Maize
Electrolux Supplier Awards 2013 winners announced
Visions in High Gloss in Red by Kitchen Door Workshop
Deserved promotion for Laura Weeks!
Are these the most unusual toilets in the world? To coincide with World Toilet Day on Tuesday of this week, Better Bathrooms compiled a list of what the staff feel are the 10 most unusual loos around the world and as well as being unusual they're all currently completely free of charge to use. At 15,190 feet above sea level, Saint-Gervaise-Les-Bains on Mont Blanc has specially designed toilets for use in extreme conditions. These 'dry' toilets are waterless and chemical-free, instead utilising a worm-composting system to deal with the waste. Abode Aurora: lights indicate water temperature
New space saving solution from Bauhaus
Britton's stunning new one piece basin and pedestal extends Curve range
IDS launches first range of kitchen taps from Grohe
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With both my daughters going through senior school at the time Tony Blair was encouraging as many of our young people as possible to attend university, they ignored my advice to ‘get a trade’ and went down the further education route, both gaining excellent degrees in subjects about which they were passionate and aligned to industries which – according to the Government press releases during those years – were about to receive huge and ongoing injections of funding. Apart from one successfully completing a brief internment with a consultancy that was at the time making people redundant, neither has been able to get onto the career ladder in a field that has anything to do with the subjects in which they specialised. Survey results released today reveal that more than a third of UK employers are now engaging with local schools and colleges, to provide crucial access routes into their organisations. The data also revealed that, despite the increase in the number of access routes, too few employers were receiving applications from people aged 16 - 24. Indeed just under a quarter of employers did not receive a single application from a young person over the last year. Apparently another recent survey has revealed that large numbers of the UK’s young people are now wishing to become celebrities rather than pursue a meaningful career… I do hope that everyone in the KBB industry takes note of both surveys, starts engaging with our nation’s youth as early as possible in their lives and encourages as many individuals as they can to take up a useful trade so that we no longer have to put up with second rate jobs completed by overpaid and poorly skilled trades people! And if you’ve already signed up to the scheme reported in this week’s news – or something similar – or if you work in partnership with any of your local educational establishments to attract the most capable candidates to your apprenticeship schemes, I’d love to hear about it.
Yours,
 This Week's News
Franke launches 'More in Store' campaign supporting independent specialist retailers More in Store is the major new campaign being launched by Franke on January 1st and continues Franke's strategy to directly support its independent specialist retailers.
The campaign follows on from the recent introduction of new sales and distribution policies designed to uphold the values of the Franke brand and protect retailers from unregulated internet trading by 'market free-riders.' New countertop basins from Bauhaus are beautifully crafted
Cultured mineral marble basins are produced from natural mineral and stone particles, polyester and resin bonding agents. Cast in exclusively designed Crosswater moulds, each basin is finished in a hardwearing, scratch resistant GelCoat, with a perfect white gloss finish. The uniformity of the surface is warm to the touch as it adopts the ambient room temperature. More than a third of UK employers bridging gap between education and work More than a third (35%) of employers are now engaging with local schools and colleges, according to a survey of more than 1,000 UK employers, conducted by the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development. Saniflo and Barwoods strike deal Saniflo - UK manufacturer of pumps, macerators, shower cubicles and inclusively designed sanitaryware - struck a deal to supply Barwood Products with the Saniflo Kineduo, Sanimatic and Sanidoor from the Sanilife range. Barwood Products - a leading manufacturer and distributor of inclusive bathroom products - will sell the three Sanilife products under the Barwood brand throughout the UK. Sir Stirling Moss's bathroom is a star In silver and white
His high tech house in London's Mayfair is almost as celebrated; the bomb damaged plot having been acquired by Sir Stirling for just £5,000 in 1961 and transformed into a stylish five-storey structure full of computerised and robotised gadgets, including a remote-operated bathtub, automated dumbwaiters and a one-of-a-kind carbon fibre lift made by the Williams F1 team. At 84, Sir Stirling still lives in the same townhouse, currently estimated to be worth at least £10 million.
* 73% of people leave showers running for an average of 1 minute 45 seconds before getting in, wasting up to 60 litres of water before every shower Luna cabinets offer a flexible bathroom storage solution
Offering total flexibility and infinite design possibilities, the Luna cabinets can be combined in a whole host of ways to suit the space available and to cater for individual storage requirements. Abode splashes out in John Lewis
PWS injects new colour palette to Metris collection
Bushboard appoints National Training Manager
Mereway Kitchens commends more employees for 20 years' service
In 1993, employees Lynda Blue, John Bourne, Ian Hickman and Martin Suffolk joined Mereway and now 20 years later celebrated their long service at a presentation event with Managing Directors Bob and Richard Norris. In recognition of their loyalty, integrity and commitment, each received a personal gift to mark the occasion. The KBzine Archive Search We keep an extensive archive of news stories and product information that have featured in past issues of The KBzine. If you would like to run a search of the The KBzine web site using the search tool below please just go ahead by entering in the name of the person, product or company or any other key words that you are looking for. How to contact us at The KBzine:
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clicking the link above. Recent News
Latest Bathroom Retailers Market Report just published The latest report on the UK Bathroom Retailers Market has now been published. Celebrate the 12 Daves of Christmas with Utopia You can never have too many Daves - we know that's true because at Utopia they have got 12 of them! This unusual fact has prompted the team to celebrate its Daves and Christmas together with its new festive Facebook campaign, 'The 12 Daves of Christmas'.  Don't deflate the van tyres for winter Van users are being advised not to follow outdated advice on winter driving. Steve Clarke says: "There is a long-held view that reducing tyre pressures will increase grip on awkward surfaces. This might be all right for driving over desert sand, but it is certainly not safe for winter driving." As marketing manager for The Fuelcard People, part of Fuel Card Group, he has been working with van users for years and knows the challenges they face.  NHBC new home registrations continue to soar New home registration statistics for the UK, released today by NHBC, show that the number of new homes being registered continues to improve on last year's figures with an overall 24% increase for the rolling quarter August to October compared to the same period in 2012. KBBG applauds 'Small Business Saturday' initiative The Kitchen Bathroom Buying Group, a subsidiary of the kitchen & bathroom buying group in Europe, DER KREIS, supports the UK's first 'Small Business Saturday' that takes place on 7th December 2013. The Cook’s Kitchen, by Mark Wilkinson OBE, first to win Design Classic Award
Lustrolite brightens up the House Beautiful Awards
Two new retail members join KBSA In the last month, the Kitchen Bathroom Bedroom Specialists Association has welcomed on board two new retail members - Dream Bedroom & Kitchen Designs and Hurford & Tebbutt. Topps Tiles named Top 100 Apprentice Employer Topps Tiles has been recognised for excellence in businesses that employ apprentices after being named as one of the country's Top 100 Apprentice Employers 2013, by the National Apprenticeship Service in partnership with City & Guilds. Shabby kitchens and bathrooms are biggest bugbear for tenants A survey of the private rental market, by popular shower and tapware brand Methven, has revealed that poor quality fixtures and fittings are the biggest rental bugbear for tenants - and can cause them to leave their properties early. |
