Craftsmen's breakfast: District administrator invites district craftsmen's association

It is already a small tradition and will be continued under District Administrator Jürgen van der Horst to emphasise the good cooperation: the so-called craftsmen's breakfast, an informal exchange between representatives of the Waldeck-Frankenberg district craftsmen's association and the district. At the meeting in the district hall, the district administrator and the representatives of the craftsmen were joined by the heads of the relevant specialist services for construction and building management.

Material bottlenecks and price increases, but above all the availability of craftsmen, of specialists in their respective trades, have been a major topic of discussion for some time now and were not on the agenda at the craftsmen's breakfast for the first time. The topic of "material price escalator clauses" was also discussed.

Particularly in the case of extensive contracts that extend over a longer period of time, the prices quoted in the offer can often not be maintained by the crafts enterprises, as unexpectedly high increases in material costs could not be calculated in. On the other hand, the district, as the contracting authority, is only in a position to agree on price adjustments within the framework granted by law. In addition, there is only a certain budget available on this side, which cannot be exceeded significantly without further ado.

As Managing Director Gerhard Brühl reported, the Kreishandwerkerschaft now also offers training on bid submission for its member companies. "The Hessian Tender Database offers the possibility to submit tenders directly via the portal," he said. How to use the database optimally for this purpose is taught in the training courses.

District Administrator Jürgen van der Horst emphasised: "Our local crafts are an important, reliable partner for the district and indispensable in the implementation of construction measures." Waldeck-Frankenberg is characterised by its small and medium-sized enterprises, and crafts have been an important economic factor for centuries. He was therefore pleased to be able to hold out the prospect of material price escalator clauses for new contracts to the skilled trades. A corresponding agreement for the products mentioned in the federal decree - including steel, aluminium, wood and cement products - was being prepared.