Fraser Lawrence, principal of Perth-based F&S Lawrence, has been elected president of the Scottish & Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers' Federation (SNIPEF).

Fraser Lawrence, principal of Perth-based F&S Lawrence, became president of the Scottish & Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers’ Federation (SNIPEF) at its Annual Conference this week.

Lawrence is only the third president of SNIPEF to come from the Perth & District Master Plumbers’ Association, and the first for over 50 years. 

In his inauguration speech, Lawrence said: “As we are all aware our industry like many others continues to suffer from an ongoing reduction in workload. To put this into context, SNIPEF lost over 70 firms from membership last year, the majority of which sadly went out of business.

"Ironically, 2011 was also one of the best years for the recruitment of new SNIPEF members, as a result of which the overall membership of the organisation was largely unchanged for the year as a whole."

He continued: “It is in times like this that membership of a trade body like SNIPEF makes a real difference. SNIPEF members benefit from a whole host of “member only” schemes, many of which save money and time. I know from personal experience that our insurance scheme can save an average-sized member business several hundreds of pounds each year. I would encourage you all to check out the range of services your trade body can offer."

SNIPEF was established in 1923 and has nearly 750 member businesses, which together employ nearly 4,500 operatives.