As you'd expect, a job like this one takes us to plenty of kbb factories and showrooms, not just in the UK but occasionally further afield as well. My latest trip, for example, was to bath specialist Kaldewei's facility near Munster in Germany. It was an enjoyable couple of days, not least because this time British Airways didn't lose my bag on the way out, as they had on a previous excursion. That didn't stop them losing someone else's, but that's another story.

Anyway, aside from the usual factory tour, I was also given the opportunity to view the rather swanky Competence Centre, complete with showroom, presentation areas and coffee bars. There's even an area for guests to 'whirl in private', which a group of Kaldewei's Swedish retailers were busy enjoying on the day of my visit. 

The company invites guests from all over Europe to the centre in an attempt to persuade them that steel enamel is the future for the bath market. But if I'm honest, most of the retailers I talk to here in the UK have mixed views on these kind of training initiatives. They tell me that what manufacturers tend to forget is that your typical showroom can often ill afford to have its staff flying off on occasional European jollies. Training is all very well, but who's going to man the showroom and fit the bathrooms back here?

It's a problem Kaldwei's UK md Udo Happe recognises. And that's why the company has recently opened a similar complex right here in the UK. "It's like the one in Germany but on a smaller scale," Happe tells me. "It works well for us because customers sometimes say they can't afford to go over to Germany for three days. Here we're all set up for a day's presentation."

Happe admits visitors to the showroom, based in Tolworth, just outside London, often still view steel enamel negatively, pointing to the increased heat loss. But really that's what their visit is all about - it's a chance for Kaldewei to put its own side of the story, promoting the benefits of the material and raising its profile. "At the moment UK showrooms are highly dominated by acrylic and there's no reason for that," Happe went on. "Now we can get them into our showroom directly, and get them to upgrade to the next level. Once that starts, we'll see a big increase in our sales."

The new UK centre is key to Kaldewei's plans for 2008. It's also solid proof that there are companies out there willing to invest serious money in industry training. Other kbb firms offer something similar of course, but perhaps not yet in big enough numbers. Maybe the Kaldewei example can provide some inspiration.