The Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) has confirmed that David Young, managing director of Bradfords Building Supplies, and Tony France, sales director of Ibstock Brick, will take part in an Industry Forum debate at this year’s All-Industry Conference, which takes place in June in Dubrovnik.
The Industry Forum brings together delegates from every sector of the industry to debate key business issues of the day. The scene is set with initial presentations by four industry leaders, with many years of experience between them, before the debate is opened to the floor
Of the first two speakers to be named, Tony France will give a suppliers’ view, while David Young will draw on his current role, heading one of the country’s largest independent builders’ merchants, and his earlier merchanting career within the Wolseley Group.
Tony is sales director of Ibstock Brick, the brick manufacturer with 21 factories producing over 800 million bricks a year. He is also a supplier advisor to the BMF board and the BMBI ‘expert’ for bricks. Tony has worked in the brick industry for 34 years since joining the sales team of Steetley Brick & Tile in 1985. Having worked through the acquisitions of Steetley by Redland in 1992, then of Redland by Ibstock in 1996, he has seen a lot of change in the industry most of which, he says, for the good.
Meanwhile, David specialises in developing businesses through strong relationships with customers, suppliers and employees. He has been managing director of Bradfords Building Supplies since 2015, heading a business that encompasses 43 builders’ merchants, 23 plumbing and heating branches, 23 toolhire branches, and 7 kitchens and bathroom showrooms. He has worked in the construction materials industry throughout his career, joining the Wolseley UK graduate sales management training scheme in 1996. He ran his first branch the following year, and undertook a number of sales and operational roles within the Build Center brand, becoming Build Center trading director for the south west in 2006 before moving to a national role with Drain Center five years later. He joined Bradfords Building Supplies in 2014 as business development director before taking up to his current role.
John Newcomb, chief executive officer of BMF, said: “With our conference theme of “Building Excellence” we will be exploring how our industry can thrive no matter what the challenges presented by external environments beyond our control. I’m delighted that David and Tony, who both have a wealth of experience in managing through change, have accepted our invitation to help set the agenda for this unmissable debate.”
The BMF All-Industry Conference takes place in Dubrovnik from June 13-16, 2019. Further details can be found on the conference website, www.bmfconference.co.uk.
