To Members

It has been a year that, in one sense, has flown by and in another sense seems to have lasted a decade. ceda plans, research and ideas continue to come to fruition and we are really delivering our ceda 2022 Development Strategy to take us through to our 50th Anniversary. The ceda Confidence Survey has continued to show consistent, positive feedback in terms of growth and sustainability for the overwhelming majority of Members businesses which is pleasing. The major piece of work being the rebrand that was undertaken and we are receiving positive feedback from the membership and wider industry already. Our presence at Commercial Kitchen Show and Lunch!, in addition to industry events such as; the LACA Conference, the NACC Forum, ASSIST FM Conference and Cost Sector Catering Awards etc has grown and with it so has our ability to inform end-users, operators and customers of the outstanding work that ceda Members undertake. Membership numbers have grown by 10% and we are better engaged with Members than ever before – this was demonstrated with record Member attendance at November Regional Meetings and the ceda Academy. Our appointment of Creation ADM to deliver our marketing plans and objectives is another really positive step and development work is being undertaken that will see brand new websites, increased social media activity, more video, more photography and increased presence at exhibitions ramp up in the New Year. On the technical side, the suite of documents now available in the Members Area of the website has grown – all having a real and positive impact on Members businesses. And the publication of the Solid Fuel Guidance document was a fantastic output for the Association. All in all, a positive year with lots accomplished and lots still to do. I close with a quote, published in the industry press, from a company that has joined ceda in the last few months; “To round off an eventful 12 months we accepted the kind invitation to join ceda, which has undergone an incredibly positive transformation. This is now an essential affiliation for any distributor to have and it’s reassuring to have ceda’s backing in our armoury.” The culture of ceda has changed and 2018 will see us communicate this to the wider industry, as never before. I thank you for supporting me as your Chair since April, a position I am proud to hold. May I wish you and your families a happy and peaceful Christmas and I look forward to seeing you in the New Year. Mark Kendall, ceda Chairman