Dear industry colleague,

	Though still shaky in parts, the European plumbing industry has weathered the eye of the global financial storm.

The plumbing industry seems to have survived the global financial crisis in spite of being immediately impacted by the collapse of the building sector, which was a major cause of the meltdown in the US.

This month www.worldplumbinginfo.com looks at the US, European and South African plumbing sectors to find out how industry is affected, how it is coping and what the future holds.

In essence it comes down to the individual business as to how it tackles the problem. Studor CEO Franz Arnold believes this is actually a good time for strong businesses to step up, while the weaker businesses fall by the wayside.

Robert Burgon, director and secretary of the Scottish and Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers’ Federation says, “Each individual business has to make its own decisions, but such a period is a good opportunity for the well-qualified, professional business to highlight to clients that it can do more and better than those which are not so well qualified.”

All the industry experts interviewed for this story believe that standards must be upheld if plumbing is to not only survive, but thrive in future. It is the perfect time to let the general public know how important plumbing is to the wellbeing and safety of the general community.