The Heating & Ventilating Contractors Association (HVCA) is changing its name to the Building & Engineering Services Association.

The Heating & Ventilating Contractors Association (HVCA) is to change its name to the Building & Engineering Services Association.

The decision follows a membership consultation and takes effect next March.

HVCA president Bob Shelley says the HVCA name no longer reflects the scope of services provided by members, which is "now much broader than simply heating and ventilating.

"It is clear that clients do not fully recognise the ever-widening range of services our members provide – nor the increasing role they play in the integration of engineering systems in today's buildings, especially in relation to the growing trend towards renewable and environmental technologies," he says.

The association has long been convinced of the need for the creation of an organisation to represent the wider building and engineering services sector, Shelley added. "HVCA is now ideally placed to become just such an organisation."

This is the third time in its 107-year history that the association has changed its name to reflect the developing character of its membership - the most recent was 1963.

"Today, our membership embraces many other specialisms, such as ventilation, hygiene, refrigeration, air conditioning, heat pumps, and facilities management services, all of which can be accommodated under the 'building and engineering services' description."

Chief executive Blane Judd (pictured) says the re-branding is just one element in a "re-positioning" exercise that would enable the Association to provide its members with a wider range of services, enhance its influence on government and across the wider construction industry, and provide a "natural home for all specialists within building and engineering services.

"It also acknowledges the increasing clients' emphasis on an integrated, one-stop-shop approach to the procurement of building and engineering services, and satisfies their wish for a broader-based organisation that is able to respond to ever-changing requirements," Judd said.