The Bathroom Academy

Sponsors The Bathroom Academy would not exist without the full backing and support of the Bathroom Manufacturers Association (BMA) members. BMA members invest heavily into the Bathroom Academy with both their time and money and thanks to them, Bathroom Academy courses are heavily subsidised helping to keep costs at a minimum for Bathroom Academy students. All course material is written by leading experts from BMA member companies and their pledge is to continue investing into the Bathroom Academy to raise standards across the Industry and ensure that in generations to come the Industry is in the best hands possible. We wish to thank the following companies for their sponsorship
	ArtiCAD – design software for kitchen, bedroom and bath design professionals. Designed to help you sell, use ArtiCAD to create stunning presentations in less than 10 minutes – impress your customers and secure more sales. ArtiCAD is fully featured, incredibly fast and easy to use, requiring minimum training so you can be up and running in no time. ArtiCAD i-Design enables prospective customers to easily submit detailed room layout plans for their proposed new kitchen, whilst at the same time automatically asking key questions which help to qualify the lead for the Better Kitchens sales team. Articad Limited
	BCG is the UK’s leading business to business distributor of kitchen, bathroom and heating products to independent retailers and merchants. With over £10million of stock available at any one time and delivery as soon as the next working day across the majority of the UK, the company prides itself in providing excellence through its service and availability to its customers. The company’s key aim is to seamlessly partner with its customers by acting as an integrated part of their supply chain. By offering all the leading kitchen, bathroom and heating brands that customers know and trust, BCG acts as a ‘one stop shop’ for all of its customer’s product needs, managing over 36,000 product lines within its portfolio. In the last quarter of 2010, BCG launched The ‘Total List’ a ring binder format, pricing book designed solely with the kitchen and bathroom retailer in mind. Rather than face the previous problem of having to re-print its entire pricing book, BCG now has the ability to immediately respond to incremental price changes, introduce or exclude new or discontinued products or launch completely new brands, by updating the individual pages or compartments of the book. The full product range can also be found on BCG’s striking and contemporary new website, www.bcgxl.co.uk. Customers can now place orders online - receiving confirmation within 1 hour, view their account status, directly download invoices, view and track the status of an order, create quotations - with the ability to personalise and check stock availability in real-time, 24 hours a day. Telephone ordering is available between 8am and 5.30pm with next day delivery available in most cases, on orders placed before 3pm.* With the power of a comprehensive logistics network behind it, comprising of over 60 vehicles, 5 modern distribution centres and over 200 specialist logistics staff, BCG has long proven itself to be an agile and efficient distribution partner to its customers. In January 2010, BCG introduced the loyalty programme Airmiles, to its customers. As the only scheme of its kind within the kitchen, bathroom and heating sectors, BCG’s customers are rewarded with Airmiles for the purchase of products ranging across the majority of the BCG portfolio. The scheme, which has been greatly received by customers, has seen BCG join a renowned list of companies also rewarding their customers for loyalty; these include Lloyds TSB, Tesco, Shell and Avis. BCG XL
	Essential Kitchen & Bathroom Business provides a heady combination of hard-hitting news and cutting-edge design. The magazine delivers the news, views, and industry comment. We applaud retailer excellence with case studies and profiles; we put designers in the spotlight; highlight industry issues, and feature the coolest new arrivals, hot from the manufacturer. All this backed up by in-depth inspirational product features. The editorial team is dedicated to the pursuit of emerging design trends, upcoming colours and styles, novel interpretations on materials as well as exciting techno advances. Essential Kitchen & Bathroom Business also tackles thorny industry issues, and reports on the whys and wherefores behind the news. We ask the questions our readers want answering. We’re committed to making your kitchen and bathroom business our business! Essential Kitchen & Bathroom Magazine
	Fusion by 20-20 Technologies Offering a complete end-to-end solution, Fusion by 20-20 Technologies is the market leader for bathroom design software in the home improvement sector. Fusion software not only incorporates the latest catalogues from all major manufacturers but also boasts a built in quotation tool providing fully comprehensive, up-to-date pricing information as well as providing high quality, superior graphics. Fusion by 20-20 Technologies
	Kbbreview has been the leading business magazine for the bathroom and kitchen industry for over 25 years. Its reputation for award-winning, thought provoking and sometimes controversial editorial sets it apart as a opinion forming publication. As part of Taylist Media¹s portfolio, which also includes pioneering consumer title Kitchens, Bedrooms & Bathrooms as well as fitter¹s bible KBB Installer, it demonstrates the company¹s commitment to supporting this fascinating industry. Taylist Media Limited
	KBB Installer is a bi-monthly magazine aimed at professional kitchen, bedroom and bathroom fitters and tilers. We are the only magazine that concentrates solely on the specific skills of kitchen and bathroom installation. As well as keeping readers up-to-date with the latest bathroom news, we¹ll provide them with in-depth features on all the major issues facing the bathroom sector - new building regulations, latest news from industry bodies etc - plus plenty of opinion from installers themselves and a forum for debate. We¹ll also provide step-by-step guides to fitting the latest bathroom products, plus answers to all their queries and concerns in a special expert advice section. Every issue will also feature a special report on a specific area of the bathroom market, from wet rooms to wall hung sanitaryware. This will focus on new and/or unusual products on the market and the techniques used to fit them. Taylist Media Limited
	kbb Birmingham 4th - 7th March 2012 NEC Birmingham will deliver an unrivalled industry gathering of retailers, designers, architects, developers, specifiers, engineers and installers working within the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom industry. kbb Birmingham 2012 provides all those involved in the design, specification or installation of kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms, tiles, plumbing, heating and components with a unique opportunity to source new products, gain inspiration, keep up to date with the latest industry trends and network with fellow industry professionals, for four days, all under one roof. Click here to register your interest in attending kbb Birmingham. KBB Birmingham
	NHIC EDUCATIONAL TRUST IS THE CHAMPION OF HOME IMPROVEMENT The UK’s housing stock totals around 26 million homes. It’s amongst the oldest in Europe. Already, many of them have been around for 100 years or more and will probably have to last just as long again to meet the nation’s housing demands. So it is imperative that they are maintained in the very best order to keep them energy efficient and decent to live in! Ever since it was formed in 1975, the National Home Improvement Council’s biggest task has been to help keep the housing stock in top form! It has been positively assisted in every way by the NHIC Educational Trust, a charitable organisation outstandingly devoted to making both private and public sector homes more efficient and far better places to live in! With generous help from every corner of the repair, maintenance and improvement (RMI) industry, the Trust’s various successful activities always have been to support home renovation to the highest standards, mainly through the engagement of greater public awareness of its social and economic benefits. This has been done by educating the whole community, such are ordinary citizens, ministers of state, politicians, local authorities, housing associations and every organisation and company involved. In fact everyone who can contribute to improving a property. Indeed, amongst the NHIC Educational Trusts achievements was raising the money and providing the expertise launch one of the biggest Neighborourhood Revitalisation Projects in the early 1990s. It was financially supported by the Halifax Building Society, created many new jobs and brought over 3,500 properties up to excellent, affordable and easier to run accommodation. Much of this achievement proved to be a very good benchmark for other people in many communities to endeavour to invest in their own homes bring them up to high standards, with new bathrooms, kitchens and other significant household improvements. With input from every aspect of industry, the NHIC Educational Trust is also keen to work alongside educational establishments and other organisations not only to move forward important housing schemes but to develop studies and research into enhancing our housing stock. This can all be carried out within the latest challenge of sustainable technology, which has brought a new dimension to home improvement Contact: andrew@nhic.org.uk NHIC Educational Trust
	"The NTG will recognise and align the skills and development needs of the industry to improve training opportunities and encourage individuals to choose KBB as a career" The KBB NTG was formed in 2004 and is dedicated to developing training and educational programs for the KBB sector. One of their main objectives is to up-skill the existing workforce to reduce the skills shortage and to establish career paths for new entrants into the industry. With this in mind, the NTG has put together a portfolio of training courses that focus on expanding existing ability levels and developing new skills, as well as increasing product knowledge for individuals across all disciplines. To find out more about the KBB NTG and the courses available in the portfolio, please take the time to look through the website. KBB NTG THE JOURNEY SO FAR........ Please click here to read the full five year report of the KBBNTG outcomes and achievements to date.