Managing Director Martin Harvey has stood down from his presidency of the BPCA following his two-year term in office.

Gracious in his outgoing address, Martin wished his successor well and was certain they would go on to a great job.

Martin said: “I have enjoyed my time at the helm as there have been lots of things that have happened in the last two years that are for the good of the association – some of these things were in the pipeline before I took charge but some have started and moved forward in my term so I’d like to think that I’ve had something to do with these initiatives.”

Highlights of his term in office were:

• The 100% Criteria which kicked in and led to 34 companies leaving – but 25 of these to rejoin once they satisfied the criteria.

• A new, three-year strategic plan for the Association; made public for the first time to ensure the board is answerable to its members.

• High quality individuals added on to the board that serve its purposes in a positive way.

• Revolution in the way training programmes are delivered and national/industry plaudits for this new, professional approach.

• EN16636 assessment launched and seen by influential players in the industry as an important certification when considered for certain contracts.

Martin added: “The mission statement of the Association is ‘Driving excellence in pest management’ and we all have a part to play in the achievement of this.”

His address included areas which still required a lot of attention, namely the BPCA taking on members who don’t always meet the required criteria; a key bug bear being those those who do not carry out site surveys nor service clients effectively.

“Do we hope that the client just won’t notice? Because if that’s the case, then it is clear we don’t value the work that we do, so why on earth should we expect the customer to and why are we surprised when that customer terminates their agreement?” he added.

“It’s exactly the type of practices that I have outlined above that spoil and devalue the industry and anyone identifying with these practices should take stock, examine the BPCA Codes of Best Practice, change their ways and improve or pack their bags and leave the Association.”