plastering and drywall industry set to end the year on a high

3rd December 2007

The plastering and drywall industry is healthy according to the results of the FPDC - Federation of Plastering and Drywall Contractors quarterly members’ survey for the third quarter of 2007. 

Forty five per cent of members reported a higher workload compared to 12 months previously and a quarter of specialists have seen a rise in their profit margin.

Nearly 70 per cent claimed to be feeling optimistic about their workload for the next few years.

Emma Tomlin, Chief Executive of FPDC, said: “The main concern amongst our members is the shortage of skilled labour, closely followed by CSCS cards. With declining numbers of mortgage applications resulting in a reduction of house building industry experts are warning the market may have peaked so it will be interesting to see if these concerns hold true over the next few months.”

The combination of a healthy commercial sector and a slowing private residential market provides a possible explanation for the variation in the results; some members reported a considerable increase in the number of tenders they received.

FPDC is the trade association that represents the leading drywall and plastering contractors in a sector worth more than £2.5 billion per annum.