Could history repeat itself?

David Evans, managing director of Anglo, says that supply chains need to be stress-tested now to prepare for a probable upturn in housebuilding starts.

As we get older and wiser, we recognise the same political footballs being kicked around. So, when we hear the new UK government promising to build 1.5 million houses in England during its first five-year term, your immediate instinct is to treat it with a pinch of salt.

Ambitious targets, lots of rhetoric, often comes to nothing.

But this time, it feels different. Not only do the proposed measures, which formed part of the King’s Speech, sound credible, but they are gaining support from those who matter.

Those measures include making it easier to get planning permission, forcing local authorities to stick to mandatory housing targets, and making it easier for government bodies to issue compulsory purchase orders.

And housebuilders are lining up to support this approach.

Following the speech, Neil Jefferson, chief executive of the Home Builders Federation, said the ambition and proposals are positive and welcome.

“Planning has been the biggest constraint on house building in recent years and the measures proposed will address the main areas of concern by bringing more land forward for development more quickly,” he said.

The National House Building Council (NHBC) estimates that housebuilding volumes must double from current levels if the 1.5 million new homes target is to be met.

Yes, this is positive news, and the fenestration industry will benefit as more windows are required.

But let’s not forget that we have experienced a market downturn in the last 18 months. Many companies up and down the supply chain have scaled back operations, and we have seen companies exit the market through insolvency. This will affect the industry’s response to any sharp increase in demand. The sector must ensure that it has both the skilled workforce and reliable supply chains at the ready.

We learned painful lessons during the Covid pandemic. After a national shut down, we saw some companies stop supplying steel to the fenestration industry, which left window companies unable to complete orders as demand quickly returned.

We haven’t forgotten, and we have invested in people, machinery and processes to help guarantee supply, offer competitive prices, and ensure high levels of quality.

For example, we have invested more than £1 million in a new double-sided roll-forming line, which allows us to retool one side while the other is running. This means switching to make different products takes minutes instead of hours.

We also provide cut-to-size reinforcement, which offers labour efficiencies and reduced wastage, which can create savings of up to £184,000 per year for fabricators producing 1,500 frames per week.

And did you know that we offer galv coating thickness meters on free loan to window fabricators – whether they are Anglo customers or not – so they can check the quality of the steel they receive for themselves?

On top of that, we’ve signed supply deals with raw material providers to secure product through to March next year at set prices – putting our customers’ minds at ease in the process that there will be no supply interruptions and no price shocks.

If we get a spike in housebuilding activity – and looks increasingly likely that we will – then we all need to stress test our supply chains now so that we can confidently meet that demand when it comes.