THE Conference 2008

Nearly 450 delegates, nine speakers, and a venue with no less than eight swimming pools – those are the bare facts behind THE Conference 2008 at the Gran Hotel Bahia del Duque Resort in Tenerife.

Organised jointly by the BMF, NMBS, Unimer and Builders Merchants Journal, this year’s event once again attracted massive support from the industry with a total of 64 sponsors: 33 at Premier Plus level and 31 Premier sponsors.

Guest compere Nick Hancock got the audience laughing from the off, and kept it up at intervals throughout the conference.

London Evening Standard city editor Anthony Hilton once again delivered an authoritative overview of global economic trends – of necessity, a somewhat downbeat session; futurologist Stuart Smith of Wood Holmes Group machine-gunned the delegates with facts and figures concerning the future of the housing market; and David Moody investigated the potential of the emerging ‘pod’ building market for merchants. Threat or opportunity – it’s what you make of it, he seemed to be saying.

Delegates paid close attention as a merchant (Simon Blaxill of Kent Blaxill) and a supplier (Paul Heatherington of Alumasc Interiors) faced each other across the stage and explored ways in which the two sides of the industry can work more closely together for their mutual benefit.

Meet the Merchant, the conference’s ‘speed-dating’ feature, was again a huge success, with nearly every meeting slot pre-booked. And the Saturday morning seminars addressed some of the real issues in the market right now: credit control, zero-carbon housing, and the emerging market for online merchanting.

A cheer went up when it was announced at the gala dinner that the merchants leveled the score this year in the annual merchants v suppliers challenge. BMJ publisher Colin Petty presented the Buttle Cup to Paul Bence, representing the merchant side of the business.

Delegates were enthusiastic: “A really excellent event – the most important and rewarding Conference so far,” said Parker Building Supplies financial director Stewart Pierce.

* BMJ’s full conference report will be published with the August issue.

* Look out for Conference 2008 Photograph galleries coming soon on BuildersMerchantsJournal.net

Click here to see photograph galleries from THE Conference 08

THE Conference News on BuildersMerchantsJournal.net

Conference organisers help merchants beat the credit crunch 27-Aug-2008

The four merchant organisations behind THE Conference are launching a one-day seminar to help builders merchants and suppliers get through the current credit crunch.

Conference 2009 venue to be decided 30-Jun-2008

No decisions have yet been taken about the 2009 venue for THE Conference, delegates were told at Tenerife.

Conference seminars spell out dangers of bad business. 29-Jun-2008

The second day of THE Conference featured focussed business seminars covering subjects from credit control to online trading.

Breaking out of the box at THE Conference 27-Jun-2008

Buildersmerchantsjournal.net is first with the news from this year's THE Conference in Tenerife, the industry's foremost networking and business event.

10 reasons to be at THE Conference 3-Jun-2008

It's your last chance to book for THE Conference 2008! Here's why you should be there...

THE Conference gathers pace 13-May-2008

Is off-site construction one of the biggest threats to the merchant industry? Or are there untapped opportunities for growth because of it? This is just one of the key issues affecting your sector that will be examined in detail at this year's The Conference.

Merchant and supplier to lead debate at THE Conference 1-May-2008

What will be the key growth opportunities for merchants and their suppliers over the next few years - and what do they need to do to ensure they exploit these opportunities? This will be the broad theme of an important new feature at THE Conference 2008 in Tenerife on June 26-29.

More speakers, more sponsors for THE Conference 08 4-Apr-2008

Latest speakers to be confirmed for THE Conference 2008 include former Wolseley executive David Moody, who will focus on pod building, and John Tebbitt, who will deliver a seminar on carbon neutral housing.

Celebrity compere for THE Conference 25-Feb-2008

TV presenter and comedian Nick Hancock has been announced as guest host of THE Conference, which is taking place this year in Tenerife, 26-29 June, jointly organised by BMJ, BMF, UNIMER and NMBS.