Photo: Gerard Roofs’ Country Manager Graeme Wilson welcomes installers to the Glen Innes site.

Around 40 LBP-certified installers and leading hands from within Gerard Roofs’ Certified Roofer network got the good oil in Auckland recently, hosted by the business for an interactive day of training.

Attendees got backstage passes to the business’s Glen Innes operations, for many an eye-opening look into an exporter servicing markets in Africa, Asia and the Pacific as well as New Zealand.

Photo: Gerard’s Peter Richards runs a product innovation session.

Product Innovation Manager Peter Richards and Installer Training Manager John Siepkes together ran a technical session on Gerard’s newest Alpine profile and pending NPD, with Richards enjoying a chance to speak directly to installers using the product daily:

“It was invaluable giving them exposure to Alpine...It was also good to see that what we have been working on in the background is topical, from what I’ve seen in the feedback they are thinking along the same lines.”

For Gerard, the day was also about showing appreciation and a duty of care for installers, the first half including income protection tips from Share NZ insurance specialist Tracey Jones, before the conversation turned to Health and Safety.

Enter Vadim Spice, Worksafe NZ’s construction sector lead who owned the floor during a charismatic presentation before making himself available to speak to attendees one-on-one.

Photo: Roofers get a chance chat safety with Worksafe’s Vadim Spice following his address.

Installer Training Manager Siepkes, who works closely with installers around New Zealand and played a key role in planning the day’s content said Spice’s presence was an asset and he wasn’t surprised at his ability to connect:

“Vadim brings a human side to Worksafe and Health & Safety generally, and I wanted to show this. We constantly drill the message home, but it was important to show our network that Worksafe is someone they can and should work with, rather than against.”

He and Gerard’s Certified Roofer network Manager Dean Vincent had received warm feedback from members after the event, meaning a 2018 repeat is likely.