While most businesses would be happy to celebrate their 20 year anniversary with a few crisps and a glass of fizz in reception, Vivalda Group has pulled out all the stops – hiring a full-scale funfair to mark the milestone.

Inviting more than 150 guests to its national headquarters in Birmingham to mark the occasion, Vivalda staged a construction themed party involving dodgem cars, waltzers, graffiti artists and a range of traditional fairground stalls. The event was supported by brands such as Equitone, Plastestrip, Nvelope Rockpanel and Trespa and also included a BBQ (manned by Vivalda directors no less!), food trucks and even a Las Vegas-style stage. The day ended with an award ceremony highlighting the achievements of Vivalda staff across its nationwide network of 11 locations.

Prizes were awarded for longstanding service, most boards cuts, most invoices processed and deliveries undertaken. Providing a personal address to the audience, company chairman and founder Peter Johnson weas keen to point out the contribution made by people to the business. He also made special mention of Glasgow-based MSP, the cladding manufacturer / powder coating specialist which joined the Vivalda Group in 2019.

He also gave an insight into how the cladding sector had changed over the past 20 years. “Vivalda has always prided itself on its culture as an inclusive employer, harnessing the skills and talents of everyone, irrespective of their sex, nationality or culture. We want everyone to feel safe and empowered to make their contribution to the business,” said Johnson.

“There’s no room here for outdated employment practices here. We’re a dynamic business with an eye to the future. We can see the next ten years will be full of growth potential – especially in the areas of offsite fabrication, digital construction and just-in-time delivery. This will all take huge amounts of investment in new technologies, systems and skills – and we’re already on that journey with our recent acquisition of new CNC cutting machines and our low-emission delivery fleet.”

Vivalda Group is remarkable within the UK cladding sector, given its longevity and consistent investment into its people and fabrication capabilities. David Fraser, business unit manager at fixings supplier Nvelope, said: “As Vivalda has grown over the last two decades, our business has kept pace to ensure we continue to investment in our partnership. Delivering successful projects in construction is all about trust and co-operation – and we certainly have that with the guys at VivaIda.”

In a similar vein, Jayne Arkell, UK country manager at Equitone, said: “Our fibre cement cladding is unique and needs to be handled and fabricated by experts. That’s why Vivalda is one of just a handful of businesses we trust with our products. Here’s to another 20 years of success!”.

Mark Henderson of Plastestrip added: “I’ve known Peter Johnson and Ben Jayes for over 20 years. What they’ve achieved over that time is remarkable and they should be rightly proud of their business.”

Comprising brands including Vivalda, Pura Facades, BBS and MSP (Scotland), Vivalda Group employs 160 people and has an annual turnover of approximately £40m.