IFD Annual International Conference 2023

The IFD annual international conference was recently held in Bolzano in the Tyrol. NFRC's CEO James Talman attended along with other national trade association CEO's from across the IFD membership. The conference featured an open forum discussion of CEO's which was very valuable in building collaboration and knowledge sharing. The shortage of labour and attracting new entrants was seen as the biggest collective challenge. Most countries including the UK have the problem of lack of official recognition of roofing as a regulated trade. Solar PV also featured with focus on safety and roof suitability. The conference had presentations from keynote speakers and updates from the respective IFD technical, marketing and training committees. NFRC's Director Andy Rowlands presented an update on the pitched roofing commission work plans. Of particular interest was the update on the work of the façade commission with its relevance to the focus on standards in the UK. Keynote presentations included the development of flexible organic solar for rooftop applications and an update from IIBEC's Jean-Guy Levaque on online wind loading calculations in Canada and the USA, as well as an energy wise calculator. Jean-Guy also focused on building climate resilience into roofing designs/codes and decarbonising roofing. The conference ended with a presentation from Dr. Károly Matolcsy from EMI (non-profit research institute) Hungary. He focused on an EU funded project on circularity in roofing/construction Bus Go Circular.

It was also announced that the World Young Roofer and Facades Builders Championship will take place in Innsbruck in the disciplines of facade, flat roof, pitched roof and metal roof from the 13th to the 15th November 2024. National teams of two participants along with their mentors compete for these prestigious awards. Any members who would like to consider participating or participating should contact [email protected]