Game On - SAPCA forms specialist Export Group
UK companies encouraged to look abroad for new challenges as global sports industry expands
As part of its efforts to increase business opportunities for members, SAPCA has launched a new Export Group to guide and advise those looking to expand their products and services into new markets. Chaired by Paul Langford, managing director of TigerTurf, the group held its founding meeting during the SAPCA conference in February and is open to all SAPCA members. The group will look to work closely with UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) with the aim of identifying and highlighting to members the resources offered by UKTI and other partners. The main aim will be to inform and advise members on doing business abroad – including identifying opportunities outside the UK and guidance on the steps needed to bid and secure projects.
Chris Trickey, SAPCA chief executive, said the new group will also play a crucial role in drawing up the organisation’s new export strategy.
“In January, SAPCA was re-accredited by UKTI as a Trade Challenge Partner,” he said.
“As part of that relationship – and to take it to the next level – we’ll now be working closely with UKTI to develop a new export strategy for the association. The strategy, which will be produced by the new Export Group, led by Paul Langford, will identify the role of SAPCA in supporting the UK’s sports facility industry. As well as helping existing exporters to increase their international business, it will also be a priority to encourage small UK companies to begin to export.”
He added that the plan for the group is to assist not just SAPCA members but to involve those who are already actively involved in projects abroad. “We’d certainly like to broaden our contacts with UK firms involved in sports infrastructure business overseas,” Trickey said.
“Some of what we will do – such as our presence at the FSB trade show – is already geared up to involve any and all UK companies working in sport abroad.”
OPPORTUNITIES
The launch of the group comes as an increasing number of UK companies are looking to benefit from the booming sports industry across the world, which is growing at a faster pace than global GDP. Currently, the sports market generates US$600bn-700bn each year – roughly 1 per cent of global GDP. During the SAPCA Conference, Andrew Bacchus, UKTI’s head of global sports projects, presented findings on the global sports construction industry – and how the market is evolving. Bacchus said that while UKTI’s focus has, until recently, largely been on helping UK companies secure contracts at major sporting events, the landscape is changing.
“Major events have always provided – and will continue to provide – a constant stream of opportunities – from feasibility and planning stages to fitting out stadia and security and ticketing,” Bacchus said.
“UK companies have been very successful in securing contracts for events and we’ve played a part in that.
“Some of the future events, however, will be held in markets such as Japan where we know it will be hard for UK companies to get involved. Therefore we are looking to spread our focus and are now actively identifying large-scale projects that aren’t tied to events – such as the Kai-Tak sports development in Hong Kong. The advent of the Indian (football) Super League is another exciting prospect and one which could offer a number of opportunities.
“That said, major events will still play a major role in our work. UK firms secured contracts worth more than £130m in the runup to the Brazil World Cup – for the Qatar World Cup in 2022 the figure has already reached more than £600m.”
GET INVOLVED
During the launch of the Export Group, delegates were asked for their opinions on the topics they’d most like help with. If you have any suggestions regarding the work of the group – or you want to get involved, whether you’re a current SAPCA member or not – please email: [email protected]
Qatar World Cup
The 2022 FIFA World Cup will act as the catalyst for the country’s ambitious 2030 National Vision – which is to create a sustainable economy and advance the standard of living of its people. Opportunities include:
• A US$4bn (£2.58bn) stadium building programme
• Construction of 89 training facilities
• 21 new hotels to be built within five years and a further 29 by 2022
• US$140bn (£90bn) investment in general infrastructure projects
UKTI - global sports projects
2015: European Games, Baku, Azerbaijan
2016: Olympic Games, Rio, Brazil
2017: Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
2017: Universiade, Taipei, Taiwan
2018: Asian Games, Jakarta, Indonesia
2018: FIFA World Cup, Russia
2018: Winter Olympic Games, Pyeongchang, South Korea
2019: Rugby World Cup, Japan
2019: Pan Am Games, Lima, Peru
2020: Olympic Games, Tokyo, Japan
2022: FIFA World Cup, Qatar
SAPCA is a Trade Challenge Partner to the UKTI Global Sports Projects team, which:
• Provides knowledge of future sports events
• Opens doors to the organising committees
• Hosts events to help UK companies learn about opportunities
• Offers networking opportunities to meet decision makers
• Organises visits to markets that host events
Annual conference builds better businesses
This year’s SAPCA Conference – held at the Chesford Grange Hotel in Warwick – was aimed at giving SAPCA members some of the tools needed to build stronger businesses
The 2015 SAPCA Conference offered delegates a series of sessions and workshops across a variety of core areas of the industry – from dealing effectively with financial and legal issues, through sales and marketing skills to project funding and planning law.
Olympic silver medallist, rower Cath Bishop, delivered an inspiring keynote on the pursuit of excellence. She encouraged companies to be more like elite athletes, with clear objectives and plans of how to achieve them.
“Companies should think of themselves as lean, smart, business athletes,” she said.
“If you look at it, successful businesses and elite athletes have a lot in common. To succeed, both need to have a high performance mindset and clarity over what they want to achieve. Those that are clear about their targets are much more likely to achieve them.”
Bishop, who won the silver medal in the coxless pairs with Katherine Grainger at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, also shared her experiences of working in hostile environments during her time as a Foreign Office diplomat. She emphasised how forming personal relationships, which can withstand a “stress test” during tough times, should be the lifeblood of all successful companies. “Life is all about interdependencies – and so is business,” Bishop said. “No one does business purely by themselves, every business needs partners and collaborators. The stronger you can make those personal relationships with other businesses, the more likely they will stand by you in the time of need. A great starting point for lasting relationships is to find what you have in common.”
Other speakers included Karen Woolland from consultants WCTD, who gave delegates advice on project funding, and Neil McHugh, director of MUGA-UK, who offered his insight on how to prepare a winning tender. There were also sessions on risk assessment and marketing, while Michelle Leavesley from Citydesk Sport gave delegates great advice on how to improve marketing in an environment which is increasingly connected and digital in its nature. Among the more technical sessions was an open tennis forum – chaired by Tom Ralph, the leader of SAPCA’s Tennis Court Division – on the latest quality systems for tennis.
Chris Trickey, SAPCA CEO, said: “This year’s SAPCA Conference was a little different, focusing directly on how members can build stronger businesses, with a variety of first-class speakers from the industry and beyond, sharing their expertise and experience. As SAPCA chair Eric Page highlighted at the start of the day, the association is also growing stronger, such as through the strict membership criteria we have for financial stability, and the increased scores we have seen for members over the last few years.
“It was very pleasing that this conference was so well attended, and had grown from last year, with more than 130 delegates and over 140 at the Annual Dinner that evening. The event also attracted more sponsors and exhibitors than we’ve had before, led by very generous support from Conica. The feedback we have had has been excellent, and will help us to plan next year’s Conference, set for 8 February 2016.”
• The Annual Dinner provided an opportunity to raise funds for SAPCA’s official charity, the Warwick Wheelchair Racing Academy. The generosity of members and guests raised over £2,600, which will fund the WRA’s own very special race meeting, “The Coventry Classic”, which will be held at the University of Warwick on 22-23 August 2015.
SAPCA honours Bill Pomfret
In January the industry lost one of its most knowledgeable and respected members, with the untimely death of Bill Pomfret, aged just 61, following a prolonged illness.
Bill was the managing director of Thornton Sports’ synthetic grass manufacturing division, Nordon. His extensive experience from more than 30 years in the industry included the management of a wide variety of sports surfacing projects.
A long-standing member of SAPCA’s board of directors, and chair of the Manufacturers and Suppliers Group, Bill was also appointed as chair of the association’s Technical Committee in 2013. In recognition of Bill’s outstanding contribution and commitment to the industry, SAPCA made a posthumous presentation of the prestigious SAPCA Award for Achievement at its recent annual dinner. Accepting the Award on Bill’s behalf, Chris Stephenson of Thornton said: “Those who knew Bill are likely to describe him as a man of integrity. While being honest and forthright, he also had a fantastically dry sense of humour. Outside of work he was a loyal, family man who enjoyed good food and fine wine. His hobbies included fishing and tinkering with vintage motorbikes. He will be greatly missed by all those who knew him.
SAPCA to support Saltex 2015
SAPCA and the Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) have agreed to work closely together in 2015, in particular to support the two organisation’s exhibitions.
SAPCA will participate in and support the IOG’s Saltex exhibition, which is moving to a new venue – the NEC, Birmingham – and to a different time of year (4-5 November 2015).
As well as having a presence at the exhibition, SAPCA will share technical advice and guidance and support the show’s educational programme by presenting seminars on key technical subjects on the design, construction and maintenance of sports facilities.
The IOG will support SAPCA’s one-day Sports Facility Shows, which will take place at three different venues across the country in 2015:
• Tuesday 10 March: Lee Valley Athletics Centre, London
• Tuesday 9 June: Madejeski Stadium, Reading
• Tuesday 24 November: AJ Bell Stadium, (formerly Salford City Stadium), Salford
Welcoming the agreement, SAPCA CEO Chris Trickey said: “SAPCA and the IOG share common objectives in raising the standards of sports facilities. Many IOG members maintain playing surfaces and facilities which are designed and built by SAPCA members. There has always been a positive relationship between the two bodies, but it makes great sense that we develop an even stronger partnership.”
SAPCA strengthens technical programme
SAPCA’s Technical Committee met in January to progress work on the association’s Technical Programme, a diverse range of projects which seek to develop knowledge and guidance on key aspects of sports facility design and construction. The committee, which is composed of experts from a number of different fields, is now chaired by SAPCA director Mark Oakley, an experienced civil engineer with Hunter Construction.
Following the association’s biennial Technical Meeting, held at Loughborough University in November and attended by more than 100 people from across the industry, the Technical Committee reviewed the feedback from the event, which had formed part of the consultation process on several current projects.
One of the main areas of activity is the production of the association’s codes of practice, which set standards for the industry and provide valuable advice and guidance on the development of different types of sports facilities. Work is currently taking place on new or updated codes of practice for the design and construction of synthetic pitches, synthetic tracks, multi-use games areas and natural sports turf, as well as on the design and selection of sports equipment.
SAPCA is also working closely with Sport England and sportscotland to produce a code of practice for the design, construction and testing of bases for outdoor synthetic sports surfaces, which is due to be published jointly in 2015.
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