What Door?

FLIP IS READY AND WAITING

Dan Sullivan, MD of DoorCo gives Glass News an insight into the benefits that DoorCo’s door fabricator customers are finding particularly useful about FLiP, their new glazing cassette system.

FLiP® is the revolutionary glazing cassette system launched by DoorCo last year. Designed for performance and aesthetics, FLiP is now the standard glazing cassette system used across the entire DoorCo range and it is transforming door glazing for our customers thanks to its numerous benefits that have simplified fabrication and enhanced door designs. Right from day one, FLiP made a significant impact. We developed FLiP to give us greater control over the supply chain of one of our major door components. This really came into play last year by ultimately allowing us to offer better customer service because we could react faster and keep up with demand, as well as being able to invest in physical stock on the shelves when we needed to.

MADE IN THE UK

Working with oversees partners to deliver our everyday products has always been a challenge. Material supply, currency fluctuations and shipping costs are a balancing act for procurement and budgets, even before last year’s shipping crisis and the unmanageable costs we’re still facing. Overcoming this was a key consideration during FLiP’s R&D so we chose to partner with a large, experienced injection moulding specialist. When issues with our existing supplier of door glazing were causing a bottle neck in production and pushing up lead times, we accelerated FLiP’s launch to provide a solution. As there has been little disruption to FLiP’s production from the shipping crisis, a good supply of FLiP cassettes was established quickly and effectively. We were able to boost our stock holding of all types of cassettes to fulfil the backlog and reassure customers by demonstrating the large amount of stock we are able to maintain. This supply has not faltered, in fact we’ve already made further investment in this area to increase production with the addition of an in-house foaming machine which applies FLiP’s unique Foam in Place® technology.

FOAM IN PLACE® TECHNOLOGY

FLiP’s Foam in Place (FiP) technology is a foam seal applied by machine to the outer frame during manufacture to deliver a superior seal and negate the need for hand applying glazing tape. The investment by DoorCo on FiP is significant, totalling half a million pounds into an on site robot line to apply FiP tech, to save customers time and cost a painstaking stage in the door glazing process, and something our door fabricator customers asked us to address during our market research. FiP saves on average 3 minutes per cassette installation and removes that additional component cost. It performs better too as it eliminates the risk of gaps, particularly in the corners where water ingress is often an issue. FiP’s uniform seal prevents any water ingress. This was proven during testing. FLiP performed exceptionally well, easily meeting the BS6375-2015 and EN1027 standards, and most impressively, achieving over 1000pa through the glazing aperture during weather testing. This is further supported by DoorCo’s extended 10-year warranty. The rest of the installation process is simple and quick too. The mechanism inside FLiP clips and screws together, with a screwdriver being the only tool needed to install it. The structural connectors have a unique pivoting head that adjusts to the thickness of the glass, an angled corner protector to reduce corner flare and support heavy units, with an optional component for larger apertures for even more security. The result is a glazing cassette that sits flush to the door.

AESTHETIC APPEAL

As well as delivering outstanding performance, FLiP has the most design options on the market. In the range there are two unique profiles, two new surface textures that have been painstakingly matched to our door finishes, three overall designs, and 23 style variations. From clean, modern profiles through to traditional bevels, there is an option for any style of composite door, whether it’s traditional, contemporary, or even designer. Although creating a contemporarystyled cassette that matched our doors and performed well was a priority for FLiP, customers are also delighted with the reinvigorated bevelled design of our traditional choice, FLiP Standard.

FLIP STANDARD

With a woodgrain finish, Ovalo shape and 14 different options, FLiP Standard fits perfectly with our wide range of traditional door styles. Initially, we launched FLiP with designs that suited our current doors, but we have already started adding new styles like the 4-Grid range. There are currently three choices of Grid cassettes – Merion, Lytham and Gleneagles, with plans to widen this further. Available from early February, we will be adding Turnberry, a half glazed arched design to the FLiP Standard range.

Dan Sullivan, MD, DoorCo

CONTEMPORARY DESIGNS

FLiP has two contemporary product finishes that have a modern squaredoff flat profile and finished in either a woodgrain finish to partner with our Flush and Monza II doors, or stipple finish that perfectly matches the smooth, etched texture of Links, our composite aluminium alternative. Each FLiP Flat option has 4 styles that help form our contemporary and designer range of doors.

THROUGH COLOUR TECHNOLOGY

When it comes to colour, customers are delighted that we’ve matched FLiP’s standard colour range with our doors’ standard colours. FLiP’s standard colours are applied as part of the injection moulding process, delivering a quality of colour that customers can trust to match and removing the need for additional cassette painting. And if a bespoke colour has been chosen, both door and cassette can be painted to match either in-house or using our flexible painting service. FLiP is delivering a world of choice to our customers, from our wide range of styles for traditional, contemporary and designer composite doors, its well thoughtout design that is improving weather performance and production efficiencies, and most importantly, a good level of stock on the shelves, supported by a consistent and reliable supply that is under DoorCo’s control.

It’s time to FLiP: Talk to us today about enhancing your composite door offering with FLiP by calling 01625 428955, or visit: www.door-co.com/flip

ALUMINIUM DOORS WITHOUT THE ALUMINIUM

The trend for aluminium continues, says Managing Director of Apeer, Asa McGillian, but you do not need to sell aluminium to take advantage of the opportunities in this sector.

The trend for aluminium windows and doors has been on the up for some time now, and the desire for these modern, sleek products is showing no signs of slowing down. Despite its already phenomenal growth, the global aluminium windows and doors market size is still growing and is set to register a compound annual growth rate of 3% to 2026. In 2026 the value of the market is predicted to be approximately $70 million. But there is a gap in this market, that is set to see exponential growth. Products that are in the style of aluminium are proving as successful as the material itself. In fact, the more accessible and affordable nature of the aluminium alternatives available are taking the residential market by storm.

AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT PROPOSITION

In the last 10 or 15 years, we have seen multiple fabricators attempting to add aluminium to their range because of its huge popularity. But as many of them found, it is not an easy thing to do. Aluminium requires different machinery, different expertise, and an entirely different way of approaching the market to that of PVC-U. That is why there are only a small number of fabricators of the many that tried, that managed to make it work. But installers can make the most of the trend towards aluminium, without buying aluminium, according to Asa. “We developed our Silka range of doors to meet the demand for aluminium in a new and unique way,” he explains. “Silka has all the smooth, sleek lines and architectural style of aluminium, without the associated high costs. Silka not only looks like aluminium it also has all the benefits of a double rebate, triple glazed 70mm composite door, one that is also inherently more robust than aluminium skinned doors. When we designed Silka, we wanted to produce a style that would suit homes that were being fitted with aluminium windows. Aluminium entrance doors were expensive and limited in choice so we thought we would add something into the range that filled the gap. From the huge demand we have seen for Silka, we have hit the nail on the head and are able to precisely offer the right product for the current market.

INVESTING ON BEHALF OF THE MARKET

“Just because Silka is not an aluminium door, doesn’t mean it was easy to design and manufacture. We knew which designs we wanted to offer early on, so our R&D team spent more than a year working on the development of the fibreglass skin. It was a complex process to get the finish exactly right and involved several trips to the mould manufacturer and experimentation with paints. As a result, we use a new, unique paint finish that means that Silka doors are air dried, rather than processed in our usual infrared lines.”

The commitment to the market doesn’t end in the factory either, as Asa goes on to explain: “The Silka range is proving popular with consumers looking for a new composite door, but it is also attracting buyers that have previously bought aluminium. This market has a separate set of expectations when it comes to consistency of product and the service they receive from their suppliers, so in addition to a dedicated factory, we also invested in a dedicated team to manage this range. Investing in this sector has paid off, as Silka continues to hit the mark repeatedly.

A HIGH-END MIDDLE GROUND

“Our Silka range offers installers and homeowners alike a robust composite door that looks and feels like aluminium. It is an aspirational product with high-end craftmanship, but without the prohibitive price tag. Silka levels the playing field for consumers wanting the aluminium look and makes it a reality for their current homes. This in turn offers installers a real opportunity for 2022 to sell an utterly unique product that gives homeowners the property transformation they’re looking for.”

ENDURANCE ARE IN TOUCH WITH NEXT GEN DOOR DESIGNER

Endurance Doors have just unveiled their next gen Touch Portal and Door Designer that’s been developed with software partner Business Micros, after a carefully and well thought out development programme.

The new platform which is soon to be live on the Endurance Doors website, is fully mobile responsive and can also facilitate a Virtual Home. This functionality allows for multiple external and internal images to be uploaded on to a desktop, laptop, tablet or phone onto which a bespoke high-resolution Endurance Door generated by the software can be added, to provide a scaled visual representation for any door project. For installer partners, there’s also much added functionality to the Door Designer process and office back end. It’s a far easy platform for navigation when ordering online with the facility to view and amend orders and quotes, and it also allows for automatically building in markup and fitting costs, helping to generate professionally branded quotations effortlessly. The Touch Portal also does much more than a typical door designer, as it helps manage the lead generation process in one place, helping to turn enquiries into quotes and firm orders. Additional users can be added to the platform, while direct access to online resources allows for brochures and marketing materials to be sent to homeowners quickly. It's been a co-operative project as Bret Park of Business Micros commented: ‘The Touch Portal is a game changer for the door industry given the additional functionality and overall customer experience. Endurance have also proven to be the perfect launch partner for us given their excellent reputation and knowledge across the industry.’ Scott Foster, Head of Group Sales and Marketing for Endurance Doors added: ‘This new investment from us will further improve the customer experience, something that we’re constantly looking to develop further as an innovative and forward-thinking brand in the composite door sector. With the new Avantal door now launched, it’s also a rewarding time to be a business partner of Endurance Doors.’ For further information on the Endurance Solid and Secure composite door range, including the latest colours and finishes, please call the sales office on 01652 659259, visit https://endurancedoors.co.uk, or e-mail marketing@endurancedoors.co.uk. You can also add to the Twitter following @EnduranceDoors.

The ultimate composite door

Carnoustie Door Built With Innovation

Brought to you by DoorCo, the ultimate composite door is engineered with GRiPCORE technology - a hybrid of traditional & modern materials engineered to deliver a stronger, heavier and more robust door - and designed with FLiP Standard, our innovative glazing cassette with Foam In Place technology.

Find out more → door-co.com

Email. info@door-co.com | Call. 01625 428955 DOORCO, M6 Motorway House, Charter Way, Macclesfield, SK10 2NY Featuring