I recently flew from Vancouver, BC, to London, England, to attend the 20-year anniversary of the British Institute of Fitted Interior Specialists (BIFIS). This event was hosted within the Palace of Westminster, home of the UK Parliament.
If you are unfamiliar with this building, it’s more than an architectural landmark. Parts of it, including the historic Westminster Hall, date back to 1097. The 14th-century hammer beam roof has witnessed everything from state trials to coronation banquets. It’s a space layered with centuries of national decision-making.
Barack Obama famously addressed both Houses of Parliament here in 2011, being the first US President ever granted the honour of speaking in this medieval hall. And yet, on this particular afternoon, it was hosting a celebration and a conversation, which at its roots was about kitchen and bathroom installation.
For someone who’s spent half a lifetime on the tools, the significance of that location was not lost. Whether you’re a carpenter, an installer, a plumber or an electrician, it’s easy to forget how much your work underpins the economy. Standing on the other side of those gates, in a space usually reserved for national decisions, it was impossible not to feel that skilled trades matter. This event was a good reminder of that truth.
This special afternoon marked two decades since BIFIS was established. For those outside the UK market, BIFIS was founded to professionalize and raise installation standards within the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom industry. Its early focus centred around accreditation, standards, dispute resolution, and recognition of installation as a specialist trade.
What became clear during the anniversary event was just how personal and uncertain the Institute’s beginnings actually were. I don’t think I anticipated the origin story, told from three perspectives, by Member of Parliament Calvin Bailey MBE, industry veteran Billy Quinn, and BIFIS CEO Damian Walters. That three-angled account provided real context that I hadn’t fully appreciated before.
The early beginnings reminded those in the room that institutions often begin with frustration before they gain any kind of structure. Following mounting concerns around inconsistent installation standards and a lack of formal representation for installers, what began as a conversation among a few industry professionals quickly became one man’s determination to build something more permanent.
Like all great ideas, Damian Walters, the founder, CEO and driving force behind BIFIS, shared that he conceived the idea while sitting in the bath. Two decades later, that idea and his drive have translated into sustained membership engagement, industry-wide partnerships and an ongoing advocacy for higher standards within the industry.
Hearing that journey set out retrospectively was quite powerful for me. I have been part of the Institute for many years and have supported its mission because I believed installation deserved a stronger voice and clearer standards. In that room, listening to how and why it had formed, it merely reinforced my decision to join all those years ago.
The fitted interiors sector is not immune to turbulence, and over the past two decades, businesses have been forced to navigate economic crashes, ever-changing consumer patterns, supply chain volatility and a global pandemic. Survival in that environment is not an accident. It requires discipline and a willingness to evolve. The Institute has done exactly that.
It has rebranded. It has refined its position. It has reassessed how it serves its members. It has acknowledged that the conditions of 2006 are not the conditions of 2026, and that what built credibility in those early years is not necessarily what will secure influence in the decade ahead. There’s a phrase that has always stuck with me – “what got you here won’t get you there” – and institutions, like the businesses they represent, cannot afford to stop thinking ahead and adjusting to reality.
Planning is positioning, not a prediction.
For readers in North America, particularly those connected to the National Kitchen and Bath Association, the parallels are obvious. The installation conversation is no longer secondary. It is central to workforce development discussions, certification structures and industry credibility. Shared conversations between the UK and North American trade bodies are increasingly valuable because the challenges they face are remarkably similar.
Development of standards, training frameworks and professional recognition benefit from cross-market learning and installation is one of the few sectors where international collaboration can genuinely elevate outcomes without creating any level of competitive friction.
We may operate in different regulatory environments, but the real challenges of attracting new people into the trades, raising standards and supporting installers are remarkably similar.
As I left Parliament late that afternoon and stepped back onto the streets of London, I felt reassured. Confident. Confident that the Institute is not standing still and that it understands evolution is continuous. Confident that installation, as a profession, is increasingly comfortable claiming its rightful place alongside manufacturing and retail rather than behind them.
Twenty years ago, an idea formed in an unexpected place has weathered recessions, structural change and global disruption – and it is still adjusting its course.
I think that’s worth celebrating.
But more than celebration, it is worth supporting. Because the fitted interiors industry does not just need history. It needs institutions prepared to shape what comes next.
And judging by what I witnessed in Westminster, the future of installation is being taken seriously.
—Mark Conacher is CEO of KBB Momentum, a consultancy serving kitchen and bath installation businesses and retailers
