Letter from the Managing Director I am not too sure where the past 16 months or so have gone. From day one, it has been a steep learning curve. It is vastly different working within and promoting an association to selling physical products or components. One of the initial challenges of joining the BFPA as Managing Director was picking up on the great work that had been done in 2021 and 2022 on the strategic plan, making sure the host of ideas that came out of it became a key focus for us so as to ensure various aspects of the strategy became of tangible value and benefit to our members and the wider industry. Whilst one or two actions are still to be rolled out in this our 65th year as an association, the invaluable input of the strategic teams and that of our own inhouse staff ensures we are well-placed to deliver many new aspects to the membership during 2024. This includes updates to the statistical data and market intelligence reporting structure, the introduction of a standards finder, our ever-increasing learning and development programme, our mental wellbeing support and guidance, and net zero guide. As the Association celebrates its 65th year, we are well positioned to better serve our members. Moving to the next phase of the strategic plan and greater membership engagement, we need to carefully consider how we can further improve how we serve and engage with our existing and potential new members during this year and beyond. Greater engagement Visiting our members over the past year has been a fantastic and rewarding experience. We have received an incredibly positive welcome from all the visits we made to our members, which has resulted in being invited to visit others. This is always a positive situation. The regional networking events introduced through 2023 have seen a continued increase in attendance. They have also helped to bring in new members over the past 12 months. We also introduced ‘Members Spotlights’ within our newsletter. These are simple overviews of any of our member companies that would like to take part. The Members Spotlights are also covered on the various social media platforms. Our newsletter provides a huge amount of information for our members – some may say too much. However, we always have a positive story to tell. Our newsletter actively promotes companies that have made valuable investments in their business, whether in terms of people, equipment or innovative technology. It also highlights other activities going on within the BFPA. The power of social media Social media has proved to be a highly effective form of promotion for the BFPA as well as for our member organisations and their activities. Through this greater visibility, we are being proactively invited to visit more member companies, which is fantastic. Also, what the BFPA prescribes as best practices is being increasingly A year in the chair 16 www.bfpa.co.uk Chris Butcher, Managing Director of the BFPA, reviews some of the key focuses and achievements since he joined in November 2022, and reflects on the Association’s impressive 65th anniversary milestone this year.
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