HVCA president elaborates on imminent name change
Bob Shelley, president of the Heating & Ventilating Contractors’ Association, has described the recently announced name change and rebranding and repositioning exercise as better indicating the diverse, sophisticated and highly complex nature of the work members now undertake. The new name, which takes effect from 1 March 2012, is the Building & Engineering Services Association — abbreviated to B&ES. The suggested pronunciation is B ’n ’ES (like fish ’n’ chips).
He explains that The HVCA name dates back to 1963. ‘Back then, that’s exactly how the majority of members would have described themselves — as H&V contractors — with the result that the name of their representative body accurately reflected the services they provided to the marketplace.
‘These days, though, things are very different. The term H&V barely scratches the surface of the diverse, sophisticated and highly complex nature of the work our members undertake.’
Mr Shelley also says that H&V does not even hint at the increasingly central role members play in the integration of engineering services in buildings — especially the incorporation of renewable technologies.
There are also other specialisms that sit comfortably under the ‘building and engineering services descriptor’. They include ventilation hygiene, heat pump and facilities management.
Looking to the future, Mr Shelley says, ‘This association has long been convinced of the need for an organisation to represent the wider building and engineering services sector. I am convinced that as B&ES we will be ideally placed to become such an organisation.’
