Page 48 - HW June-July 2021

global eyes
Grafton gets out of traditional merchanting
Big US prefab hope
files for Chapter 11
“Technology-enabled construction company” Katerra, which was set up
in 2015 to “revolutionise construction with a tech-driven approach to timber prefabrication”, has filed for relief under Chapter 11 for some of its US entities.
With its international operations unaffected by this filing, Katerra has set about consolidating its US activities, selling some assets, and securing financing.
Katerra says of the situation: “The rapid deterioration of the company’s financial position is the result of the macroeconomic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the construction industry, inability to procure bonding for construction projects following the unexpected insolvency proceedings of Katerra’s former lender, and unsuccessful attempts to secure additional capital and business.”
https://katerra.com/
EARLY THIS MONTH, having previously signalled its intentions, Grafton Group announced it was selling its Traditional Merchanting Business in Great Britain to independent builders’ merchant Huws Gray for £520 million.
The sale comprises the Buildbase, Civils & Lintels, PDM Buildbase, The Timber Group, Bathroom Distribution Group, Frontline and NDI brands, with a combined annual revenue of £828 million and gross assets of £497 million.
Expected to be a done deal by next year, Grafton is to concentrate on general merchanting and will continue to develop its Selco Builders Warehouse network and other specialist distribution and manufacturing businesses in Great Britain, as well as setting international development as a key priority.
For its part, Huws Gray is the UK’s
largest independent builders’ merchant, with 100+ locations across the UK.
Founded in 1990 from a single branch in Gaerwen, Anglesey, Huws Gray’s expansion over the past 30 years has seen it opening and acquiring branches across North Wales, the North West, Yorkshire, the West Midlands, and East Anglia, employing over 1,800 staff.
www.graftonplc.com www.huwsgray.co.uk
Dobbies trial recycles single- use compost bags
GREEN FINGERED BRITS can now recycle compost packaging thanks to a trial scheme at the country’s biggest garden retailer, Dobbies Garden Centres.
Most plastic packaging as used for compost bags ends up in landfill because very few local authorities in the UK collect polythene sacks as part of kerbside collections or at recycling centres.
However, a survey conducted by Dobbies found that 73% of respondents said they actively went out of their way to recycle, so how to meet their needs?
Consumers can now bring any compost packaging, no matter what brand or where it was purchased, and return it to one of the recycling bins in plant areas at trial Dobbies stores.
It will then be collected by Veolia
for recycling at Berry BPI Recycled Products before being used as part of a raw material blend to produce garden furniture for children’s hospices working with the Greenfingers charity.
Incidentally, the recycle bins are strongly branded with Evergreen’s
Miracle-Gro Bring Back Compost Bags, which already boast 80% recycled content.
The Dobbies trial stores for the compost bag recycling initiative
also feature pot recycling bins, in collaboration with Elho, as well as a plastic pot and tray return service, which is available in every Dobbies store.
Plus, on top of saying its bagged compost will be peat-free in six months, Dobbies has just launched a new peat- free compost containing John Innes standard material, the first own-brand product of its type in the UK.
www.dobbies.com
46 NZHJ | JUNE/JULY 2021
MORE AT www.hardwarejournal.co.nz