I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and have returned to work to start the new year with a positive outlook.

We are all acutely aware of how tough things are out there for every one of you and we will redouble our efforts to make the Federation work for you and provide you with a competitive commercial advantage.

This year more than ever we at the Federation are concentrating on areas to provide you with the best possible contacts in order to obtain contracts, providing every available opportunity to network with architects, clients and local authorities.

We are also aiming to give you the best support services you will need to help you run your businesses, with the most professional legal, technical and health & safety advice, on tap and up to date.

As a reminder, our membership services include:

Advice lines

Health & Safety

Construction Law

Employment Law

Technical

Training

Environmental

Domestic Contract

The bespoke domestic contract was was produced specifically for Stone Federation members in response to their requests.

We have an Employment Document Pack to ensure your employment policies are up to date. This pack and our advice line, worth a minimum of £500 on their own, are available to you at no extra cost.

Our new, fully integrated website with an area just for members will keep you up to date on issues affecting your industry and your Federation. And it is a portal to members’ websites, so make sure you use the free link facility.

We run and take part in various events, from buying trips to exhibitions and awards ceremonies, all of which help raise the profile of the industry in general and give you opportunities to raise the profile of your company in particular.

We offer seminars, webinars and training programmes.

We actively lobby government and other organisations, which gives you the opportunity of getting your message over to Government and bodies such as the Health & Safety Executive.

As a Federation Member you can benefit from our insurance advice. Contact our approved brokers to obtain excellent policy wording and a competitive quote.

We have publications available to members at a discounted price and also Codes of Practice that are the industry’s benchmark, prepared by the Federation and used by architects in their specifications.

We have created a number of new categories of membership to enable specifiers and professionals to join the Federation and receive services provided by the Federation that include the Register of Domestic Stone Installers & Suppliers and the Heritage Forum that focuses on issues specifically related to the conservation / restoration and renovation market.