BAM and Polypipe sign solus supply deal

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Railway infrastructure contractor BAM Nuttall has signed a solus agreement with Polypipe for the supply of drainage products to its infrastructure and building projects in the UK.

The agreement, which also includes BAM Construct UK, is with Polypipe Group’s Polypipe Civils & Green Urbanisation and Polypipe Building Products divisions. The move signals a closer relationship in procurement between BAM UK businesses, anticipated to be the first of several such arrangements. BAM believes carefully targeted deals will offer a competitive advantage for its clients, and benefits in quality and performance.

Daniel Billinge, recently appointed as BAM Construct UK’s head of procurement, said: “We are focused on meeting clients’ demands. This includes securing their key drivers like sustainability, faster programme delivery, and with modern methods of construction that demand more off-site manufacturing and standardisation. This step enhances all of those criteria.”

The BAM solus agreement with Polypipe supports earlier and closer collaboration throughout the project life cycle. Economies of scale and a raft of benefits will reduce capital costs for Clients and add sustainable value. Using just one drainage supplier on a project means BAM can plug products into the design from day one. This component-led approach removes the need to alter drawings – or digital designs – further down the line. Reducing redesigns saves time and resolves clashes and interfaces before a project gets onto site. As all components are compatible, the system’s quality and performance are assured.

“Ultimately this arrangement will not only take a lot of inefficiency out of the design, tender and construction stages, it will allow us to focus on what adds value for the customer on that particular project,” saids James Lees, head of supply chain at BAM Nuttall. “Polypipe’s technical teams will be feeding into the design process which will help us look at a wider range of possible solutions, and take early decisions based on value not just capital cost”.

For both Polypipe and BAM, working together collaboratively will establish a platform for innovation and continuous improvement particularly in areas such as carbon reduction and the wider use of recycled materials and SMART technologies.  It will also allow the development of bespoke net-gain solutions based on the unique Green Urbanisation approach which allows the integration of optimised green assets within urban and infrastructure schemes.

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