BLUES GLASS SHOWERSCREENS

BLUES GLASS SHOWERSCREENS

When we sat down with the founder of Blues Glass - Shower Screens Kennith ‘Blue’ Williams to ask him what he wanted to showcase in the BuiltView Magazine, he replied, ‘hopefully not me!’.

Modest and hardworking, Blue started out in the glass business as an apprentice at Northwest Glass, Tasmania in 1977. After completing his apprenticeship, he ran his own business for a few years. In 1989, he joined Luck and Haines, where he would end up staying for 16 years.

In 2004 Luck and Haines had a change of ownership, so Blue saw that as an opportunity to start up his own business in the Devonport region, Blues Glass - Shower Screens, using the reputation and skills he had acquired over his 28 years in the glazing industry. The business initially specialised in residential re-glazes, shower screens, wardrobe sets and screen doors.

Given the rapid growth in the building industry, Leon saw huge potential in Blues Glass - Shower Screens, and together they set to work growing the business at a rapid rate. In 2019, they hired their first apprentice and over the following years another apprentice, eight tradesmen and two trainee office administrators.

Hiring a glazing installer as their first employee in 2015, brought aluminium experience into the business, and allowed them to add aluminium windows and doors to their service offering. It wasn’t long after this that Leon Williams (Blue’s brother) bought into the business as a partner and took on the role of Director.

One employee will complete an apprenticeship at the end of this year, with two others having completed their Adult Apprenticeships in the last 12 months after spending many years in the industry. There is also another employee is in their second year of an apprenticeship and two Trainee Office Administrators have been added to improve business efficiency with customer enquiries, quoting, invoicing, drafting product cutting sheets and general correspondence. Both trainees have undertaken AGWA training to acquire skills and knowledge within the industry. We also have an office administrator employed for 3 hours per week to oversee payroll and other accounting duties.

Experienced and competent workers with skills and knowledge in the glazing industry have been attracted to fill the roles of Workshop Manager and Leading Hand and a variety of different products have been manufactured and installed to high standards. The business has tripled the size of workshops and office/ showroom and has 6 vans, 2 utes, a truck, and a forklift. The focus of the business is supplying and installing shower screens, screen doors, wardrobes, window repairs and retro fitting aluminium hinged/ sliding doors and windows.

Blue recounts the changes in the glass industry over the last 20 years, commenting that, ‘massive changes to Regulations have made everything a lot safer for installers, and advances in technology have improved both the safety and speed of glazing work. Thirty years ago, everything was made of 3 mm glass panes, even some doors!’

The construction industry has been unbelievably fastpaced over the last 2 years, and Blues Glass - Shower Screens has done a remarkable job keeping up with the growth. ‘We now manufacture and install more windows and doors in one week than we used to in a whole month!’ says Blue. ‘Every job gets our full focus and quality workmanship. We like to get it right the first time, and we pride ourselves on having very few complaints. We like to be transparent with our customers and work with them to get the best deal that benefits both parties.’