As Layher is shortlisted for the NASC Scaffolding Excellence Awards 2025, Brand Ambassador Des Moore looks at how and why the company invests in continual innovation.

I was delighted to see that Layher had been shortlisted in the Product of the Year category of the NASC Scaffolding Excellence Awards 2025. This is for the Layher SIM2Field® digital tool, which was launched at Bauma in April of this year. The NASC awards have always been a real marker for the industry, and something I was very proud to oversee during my time as NASC President. The fact that we are acknowledging companies, projects and innovations of all shapes and sizes is a great reflection of the influence and impact that the NASC has on the industry.

Part of Layher’s LayPLAN Suite, SIM2Field® uses 3D modelling data to realise digital plans on site. The system allows scaffolders to project exact layouts onto the construction site floor, and has been designed for particular use in complex or high-precision projects.

This innovation is the latest in a continual improvement process that maintains Layher’s position as a market leader. For as long as I have been working with Layher product, they are always keen to deliver the very best to the market – and that’s everything from the quality of Layher Allround® system scaffolding to the planning and design tools they’ve developed to help scaffolding contractors get the very most from their investment.

Building on the Layher advantage

I’ve written before about what makes Layher the leading scaffolding supplier in the UK. For its system scaffolding offering, the benefits have always been clear to me:

In addition, Layher’s Rent-to-Own and Rent-to-Try schemes were launched to make its system scaffolding more accessible and affordable for companies across the UK. Supporting the company’s four core pillars: Service, Support, Solutions and Supply, this scheme gives companies a trial period with the Allround System Scaffolding product.

This lets businesses test the materials and experience the benefits first hand, on live projects. If you then want to go ahead and make Layher’s system scaffolding part of your business offering, you can buy the rental materials you have been using, via a rental rebate process, so you turn your initial renting costs into an investment into the equipment.

Driving Service, Support, Solutions and Supply

As stated above, Layher’s four core pillars are Service, Support, Solutions and Supply. And it’s easy to see how the SIM2Field® product meets those pillars. These are the values that I believe drives both Layher’s success and the success of its clients’ businesses.

In a previous article, I spoke to two key members of Layher’s team about how it focuses on service and support for customers.

Perry Todd and Joe Thompson both support customers on and off site, including making sure that designs are efficient, safe and workable, and going onsite to oversee – and often help with – site preparation and scaffolding erection. And they have recently been joined by Garry Checketts, who is also focused on making sure customers get the very best support for their Layher investment.

From my point of view, with more than 50 years’ experience in the industry, I know that this approach makes a big difference to scaffolding contractors. It’s easy to sell something and leave the customer to get on with it, but the success of a business like Layher is inextricably linked to the success of its customers – so why wouldn’t you invest in helping them to get the very most from your products?

Layher’s SIM2Field® is a clear demonstration of these pillars in action, with a dedicated solution added to an already successful design product suite that supports clients to deliver better services to their own customers. A clear instance of a scaffolding supplier that understands how to work with its customers in order to grow their own businesses for the future.

And it’s not the company’s only recent innovation – Layher has also launched the FlexBeam Trolley Launching System, which you can also read about in ScaffMag – and you can find out more about this and the full range of Layher products at ScaffEx on Stand E10. I’ll be there on the morning of Friday 12th, sharing advice on why system scaffolding is a great investment for your business, and how you can make the most of that investment.

As Layher says: “We listen. We respond. You succeed.”