FENSA CEO, Graham Hinett, is set to retire after ten years in the big chair. Chris Mayne, Graham’s General Manager will be taking the reigns when he steps down and will report to GGF big cheese Nigel Rees.
He retires after seeing FENSA become one of the biggest organizations in the whole of the double glazing industry and has seen self-certification become the standard to which the industry measures itself.
It’s fair to say the FENSA has been relatively successful, but I am sure he will be one of the first to admit that during his time, there has been the odd hiccup on the way. And that despite FENSA’s best efforts, the problem of cowboy companies is still here. The most recent hiccup being the confusion of compliance when the minimum energy rating rose in 2012 from E to C. I think its fair to say that the requirements and explanations of how to comply with the new regulations could have been made much simpler and much more straightforward. But, you learn as you go along.
A lot of us complain about the things we don’t like about FENSA. But we often forget one of the biggest positives that they have created. Since 2002, FENSA gave the industry a label that the consumer actually recognizes. It gave companies a chance to be associated with something that people actually knew to be reputable and started the give the industry a bit more credibility and set the industry on the road to recovery and away from the cowboy image.
Self-certification has also been one of it’s biggest successes. The ability for installers to self-certify their work and to be easily able to demonstrate to customers through random checks from FENSA and the right certificates, they can trust the company to do the work correctly…in theory.
Another plus. Despite the economy going down the pan the last few years, unlike everything else, membership fees for FENSA have remained the same since the start, something which I think the whole industry appreciates. One thing I would mention though is that maybe a little more for our money could be shown in the future. Installers are just like every other customer in the world, we want to make sure we get value for money and maximum help and representation when we need it.
Nothing is perfect in this world, and I don’t think anything can be. But one thing I’m confident in is that Graham Hinett has sat at the head of one of the best things to happen to the industry. Some may not agree with that, some might agree. Either way, FENSA, through Mr Hinett’s guidance, has been helpful for our industry.
So I wish him well on his retirement. Go on a long holiday, maybe a round the world cruise and observe how crap other countries’ windows are compared to ours. More importantly, enjoy your time off and enjoy it!
See the full letter from FENSA here: FENSA Letter
happy retirement graham
my dad says hi, hes still going strong after the heady days at everest
they use pretty good windows in both thailand and the philippines
the veka brand is quite strong in south east asia
so they aint all carap lol
Sorry but I completely disagree with the content of this article. I’ve been a resentful member of Fensa for a few years now and I can guarantee that Fensa has not removed a company for bad fitting or deceptive marketing as of yet, despite complaints from customers and written reports from myself on disgraceful installations. The company is a protection racket and has put more stress on the smaller operators to allow the bigger fish to swallow up a larger share of the market place. I’ve nothing personal against the CEO who has just gone but I would be very… Read more »
FENSA works hard to combat cowboy installers and to ensure its members work meets building regulations. As a scheme and to ensure inspections are 100% independent, we use an independent inspection body that is UKAS ISO 17020 accredited. Any installer that fails an inspection must not only put the work right at their own expense, but also will be subject to far more frequent inspections. This article highlights why we use an independent inspection body and the role of a competent person scheme http://fensafitters.wordpress.com/2011/04/21/competent-persons-and-independent-inspectors/ We would also like to point out that we set up the cowboy stoppers website, which… Read more »
We totally agree. FENSA is just another Government money grabbing exercise. They have never offered the registered companies or customers any guarantee of security. They have no regard for the smaller firms and only want us to attend seminars and training programmes to line their pockets further. I have just spoken to one of their staff, who had little/no people skills. An attitude which has left me wondering whether the local council Building Control scheme would be a better option. (Could be a money spinner for the council’s money deficits?) I personally do not want to work with a company… Read more »
only just read your post from over 18 months ago, but got to agree. infarct they are worse now. screw the life out of small companies, with threats of this and that.move the goal posts all the time for the sake of money. its all money money money.