Two influential leaders in the builders’ merchant industry will speak at the BMF Young Merchants’ Conference at the NEC, Birmingham in October.
Andrew Harrison, deputy chief executive officer (CEO) of plumbing and heating at Travis Perkins and David Kilburn, executive chairman of MKM Building Supplies will each give presentations at the event’s industry forum and then take part in a Q&A session on the issues raised.
Both men have a lifetime’s experience in merchanting and pivotal roles in the industry, one with the UK’s leading merchant group, the other chairing the country’s largest independent.
Andrew Harrison, started his merchant career in 1980 as a management trainee with Graham Reeves, part of the Graham Group. Following branch and area management roles, he moved to Sharpe & Fisher as operations director, helping to grow the business to 38 branches prior to its acquisition by Travis Perkins in 1999. Andrew was then managing director at CCF, Benchmarx kitchens and joinery, and Keyline before becoming divisional chief operating officer of Travis Perkins general merchanting division in 2013, with responsibility for Travis Perkins, Benchmarx managed services and Toolhire. He took up his current role in June 2017.
David Kilburn started his career 50 years ago with Crossley Building Products in Teeside before joining the Graham Group, now part of Jewsons. He set up his first business in Scarborough in the 1980s and sold it soon afterwards, joining Harcros Timber and Building Supplies. Ten years later he was made redundant, giving him the spur to form MKM Building Supplies which opened its first branch in Hull in 1995 in a 5,000 square foot shed with no outside yard. Today MKM is the UK’s largest independent merchant with 52 branches and revenue in excess of £350 million.
John Newcomb, BMF CEO, said: “We are delighted to welcome two of our industry’s current leaders to take part in our first Young Merchants’ Conference which takes the theme Building for the Future. The industry has changed dramatically in the last 30 years and is likely to change even more dramatically in the next. Our conference programme brings together expert opinion from our own industry and beyond as well as providing opportunities for delegates to challenge and debate current issues both in the industry forum Q&A and during a further panel session.”
The BMF Young Merchants’ Conference takes place on October 11, 2018 during UK Construction Week at the NEC. The conference is free of charge to current members of the BMF Young Merchants’ group. The event is also open to anyone aged between 21 and 40, working in the building material supply industry for a small fee.
