What Door?

from Glass News December 2022

Energy Efficiency

ODL EUROPE REPORTS STRENGTH OF TRADITIONAL DOOR DESIGNS

Leading composite door supplier ODL Europe reports a strong upturn in demand for traditional door designs despite an evergrowing market backdrop for contemporary styling. Suzanne Nicholl, ODL Europe’s Head of Sales and Customer Services, explains: “For some time, contemporary door designs have grown in popularity, a trend that is reflected in our own sales growth. But with over half of the UK’s housing stock being built before 1964.1 Such houses may not always suit contemporary designs. This explains the continued popularity of traditional cottage door styles.”

As evidence of the continuing popularity of traditional door designs, Suzanne points to year-on-year sales increases of ODL Europe’s Canning cottage door collection which delivers traditional styling with a diamond panelling that makes a strong design statement. Also seeing strong sales is the Hornby collection, which offers a fresh modern approach to the cottage door because it is available in both cottage and flush variations, delivering the next level of flexibility. Suzanne commented: “Traditional cottage door designs have always looked good in older homes. But they also bring traditional charm to more modern properties which makes them an incredibly flexible choice.”

Like all ODL Europe’s composite door slabs, the Canning and Hornby collections are manufactured from the Capstone door slab, one of the world’s leading suppliers of composite doors. Over 750,000 Capstone composite doors are installed worldwide every year, so they are tried and tested in the most demanding conditions. The slabs are available in a wide range of pre-finished colour options and use a hard-wearing polyurethane paint system in a comprehensive choice of colours. They all feature Capstone’s maintenance-free, hard-wearing 2mm thick GRP door skin, which is available in a TrueGrain wood effect or a smooth finish.

Alongside the Capstone slab there is also a range of 38 unique decorative glass options carefully designed to complement the doors. ODL Europe also supplies a range of PAS-24 accredited glazing cassettes, including the market-leading TriSYS®. Suzanne concluded: “Whether it’s contemporary chic or classic style, composite doors have something to offer. And when you choose doors from ODL Europe, you also benefit from Capstone’s pedigree and ODL Europe’s quality commitment. It’s a powerful proposition to support our customers.” Tel: 0151 933 0299 ttps://odleurope.com

1 https://files.bregroup.com/bretrust/The-Housing-Stock-of-the-United-

Kingdom_Report_BRE-Trust.pdf

£200K EXTENSION INVESTMENT KEY TO HURST GROWTH

Leading door manufacturer Hurst Doors has invested £200K in a new 430sqm extension to its 50K sq ft manufacturing facility in Hull to enable a greater consistency of service in its dispatch of PVC panels and composite doors.

The investment is in response to five years of growth that has seen the business almost double in size, moving from manufacturing approximately 1700 panels per week to over 3500 and from around 200 composite doors to 500. The new building, which will reduce the energy required for heating and lighting, will house the finished goods storage and distribution area, providing up to 1000 panel spaces and 500 composite door spaces and a dedicated loading area to load Hurst’s dedicated fleet of 24 vans overnight. The extension will also house the maintenance department and a small machining area featuring two CNC routers for preparing MDF cores and PVC skins. Kevin Wheatman, Hurst’s Director and General Manager, explained: “Almost doubling in size saw our factory space get very congested, very quickly, with dispatch encroaching on manufacturing, while our fleet of vans also doubled from 12 to 24.

“Creating the additional space has enabled us to increase our finished goods storage capacity for both panels and composite by over 25%. The freed-up space will also allow for an additional 30 bay storage area as well as

DIRECT TRADE WINDOWS GOES THE EXTRA MILE

Going the extra mile for customers is paramount to Direct Trade Windows, which is how the leading trade supplier has helped to transform a new residential development in Hersham.

Working with Surrey-based luxury home developer Park Lane Developments, the company has supplied ultra-slim Cortizo sliding doors, complete with bespoke sliding options. “Park Lane required seven-panel sliders on a four-track system, and four-panel sliders on a four-track system, and because this is not readily available on the market, they’d been severely let down by a previous supplier,” explains Direct Trade Windows Director AJ Hassanali. “At Direct Trade Windows, we have a reputation for going the extra mile to help our customers, which is why they turned to us, and thanks to our state-of-the-art in-house CAD system, our team were able to provide a suitable design and fabrication method, delivering the required bespoke products and winning the trust of Park Lane Developments.” Serving trade installers across the country, Direct Trade Windows manufactures and supplies a wide range of premium products, including Cortizo casement windows, lift and slide and vertical sliding windows, and sliding doors. The company also manufactures a wide range of Smart products, including the Alitherm Heritage range, Smart further capacity in composite production for 100 more doors per week.” Other benefits include an improved 3m production line layout, both for storage of raw materials and linefeed access, improving health and safety and production efficiency, and the relocation of the packaging of Composite and Panels to nearer the dispatch area. Hurst’s investment is set to improve its service to customers and provide the company with the means for further growth. “We have built our reputation on our OTIF and have recovered to an OTIF of 99.8% on panels and 97% on composites, and, while we have hit those targets, this investment will make it easier to achieve them and reassure customers that we are doing everything we can to increase and ensure consistency of service,” added Kevin. “The additional space will also allow for future investment in the plant and equipment to facilitate the composite production process, improving both efficiency and reducing costs, giving us scope to grow capacity and the business even further.” For more information on Hurst, call 01482 790790 or visit www.hurstdoors.co.uk.

AluSpace interior doors, VS600 aluminium vertical sash windows, Smart EcoFutural commercial windows, as well as Visofold 6000 slim bi-folds.

In addition to a wide range of products, Direct Trade Windows has also invested in state-of-the-art machinery in order to secure reliable and streamlined production, as well as unique software solutions to provide installers with sales support and infrastructure, by sharing both leads and technical support with their customers, and also ensuring speedy product delivery and reliability. AJ continues: “Thanks to strategic investment in machinery, we have a reputation for being able to manufacture products that are known for being difficult and time consuming to make. “It’s been a pleasure working with Park Lane Developments, and to supply them with products not readily available on the market has been a privilege. “The build is due to be completed next month, and I very much look forward to seeing the final result, and to working with Park Lane Developments on future projects.” Visit www.directtradewindows.co.uk

SCHÜCO PRESENTS NEW RANGE OF OPTIONS FOR ULTIMATE BI-FOLD DOOR

The newest Schüco bi-fold door is now available with triple glazing and with a wider range of opening options offering greater design freedom to create light-filled, energy efficient homes.

The AS FD aluminium bi-fold door system can achieve very large panel sizes of up to 3.5 metres high by 1.5 metres wide. Combined with slim sightlines of only 90mm this offers greater views with minimal obstruction.

First launched in the Spring with a profile depth of 75mm, the system can now be specified as a triple glazed version with a profile depth of 90mm. The highly insulated AS FD 90.HI offers increased airtightness which enables U-values as low as 1.0 W/m²K. The addition of new opening options offers even greater flexibility. Up to nine panels can be combined without fixed panes, and doors can be folded inwards or outwards, in one direction only or opened like a pair of curtains to the left and the right. For added convenience, a ‘traffic door’ can also be integrated to give quick access to the outside without having to open the entire system. The large folding sliding panels can be moved easily and almost silently thanks to the smooth-running stainless-steel roller system, and four different threshold height options, including a 4mm and 15mm ramped option, to offer flexibility and ease of access. There is no compromise on security either as the new bi-fold door is tested to burglar resistance RC2 and is covered by Secured by Design, the official police security initiative of which Schüco UK is a member. The addition of these new options for the Schüco AS FD bi-fold door enhances the flexibility of the system allowing the realisation of almost any design requirement. For more information visit: www.schueco.uk/asfd

ENDURANCE’S 3MM BOWING GUARANTEE, 2 YEARS ON…

In September 2020, Endurance Doors made a product commitment, offering a 3mm bowing guarantee for their range of premium solid timber core composite doors which still stands today.

With clever engineering enhancements including their own Moisture Barrier System to the foot of each door, a wet seal glazing process and the use of proven CoolSkin PVCu door skins, it’s a unique door construction that’s designed to perform long-term. As Installer Partners from the Endurance Network will testify, the Endurance door is now one that stands for outstanding product quality and performance, along with an industry leading marketing and customer care programme. After an unprecedented hot year where several weather records have been broken, product liabilities from failed composites have again plagued installation companies across the UK. But it’s not only product performance that has hampered these businesses, but a lack of customer care in some quarters has meant product failures have remained unresolved for many months. In stark contrast, Endurance Doors no longer send out technical personnel to assess a bowing door, rather they simply have faith in the installers evidence, helping to speed up the resolution process considerably. It’s also a clear reflection of the complete confidence in each Endurance door from within the business, but also from an Installer Partner’s perspective too. Stephen Nadin, Managing Director of Endurance Doors commented: ‘Poor composite door performance continues to plague the industry from a product quality perspective and the way in which complaints are dealt with. Our internal processes have been designed to give our Installer Partners a wonderful customer experience when there may be an issue in product performance. Thankfully these issues are particularly rare for us, given the enhanced specification of our timber composite doors, hence our new no quibble replacement policy.’ For further information on the Endurance Solid and Secure composite door range including the ultrapremium Avantal door please call the sales office on 01652 659259, visit https://endurancedoors.co.uk, or e-mail marketing@endurancedoors.co.uk. You can also follow us on Twitter @EnduranceDoors.

APEER LAUNCHES REVOLUTIONARY VIRTUAL DOOR DESIGNER

November sees the unveiling of Apeer’s long awaited, brand new virtual door builder - signalling the dawn of a system that will, over the coming years, revolutionise the Ballymena based company’s customer reach. Integrated into Apeer’s website, the release has been finalised over recent months, forming the inaugural part of a programme which replaces the current door builder software.

IT Manager Eddie McStravick has led the two-year development project: “The new door designer has been created with the homeowner in mind, so we have focused on ease of use and strong computer graphic imaging (CGI) aesthetics to make it the best-looking door builder on the market. We spent a lot of time researching our competition, resulting in us releasing software that combines the most versatile, quality elements of modern technology into one single system. Performing as a web-based application and designed with ‘mobile first’ behavioural considerations, responsive design features ensure that the online user experience remains slick across any device.” With organic reach and engagement as priority outcomes, Apeer have released widget code that allows the builder to sit on customer websites.

So why the upgrade? Simplicity. Apeer wanted to create something which was purely image based and streamlined enough to enable users to design their dream door in less than 10 clicks. The entire product line is included, with all door types and sub styles available to choose from including Silka, Apeer70, Apeer44 and Modo ranges. Plus, a full range of glass designs. Phase 1 has included the launch of the visual door designer, with pricing and real time ordering to be added in the coming months. Control also proved to be a huge factor in Apeer’s potential to increase customer base through lead generation, both bottom up and top down. Firstly, the new technology is completely Apeer owned. The company has the absolute flexibility and autonomy to give their installers a bespoke packaged widget that has the aesthetic identity of the installer’s own business. Secondly, when a homeowner creates their perfect door using Apeer’s website, they are passed on to the most local installer as a new lead. It’s a win win for all parties. Eddie finished with: “As part of the process homeowners can upload a photo of their own home and overlay their door design for a preview of the end result. We spent a lot of time on ensuring enhanced, sharp imagery for the most realistic effect possible. We’re really excited about how the door designer will change our business, along with the extra exciting updates to the system planned for release next year.” www.apeer.co.uk

COMMERCIAL DOOR GROWTH FOR FENTRADE

Aluminium trade fabricator Fentrade Aluminium has reported a sharp upturn in demand for their hightraffic commercial doors and ground floor treatments. Chris Reeks, Director at Fentrade, said: “The growth in our commercial doors is a sign of the underlying strength of the commercial sector and the quality and reliability of our commercial product offer.”

Fentrade’s commercial doors and ground floor treatments can be used in all building types and are especially suitable for high-traffic areas such as schools, hospitals, shops and general commercial premises. The fully-integrated aluminium products offer structural integrity and highperformance properties and can incorporate both nonthermal and thermally insulating glazing. Available in a wide range of single, dual and anodised coloured finishes, the commercial doors deliver design flexibility at every level. Chris said: “It’s been interesting to note the variation in colour choices. Where anthracite grey was almost the default choice on most doors, we have also seen a rise in doors produced in 7038 agate grey as well. We can accommodate any RAL or BS colour finish which gives our customers a greater choice when it comes to colour options.” It isn’t just the quality of the commercial doors that attracts Fentrade’s customers. The award-winning aluminium fabricator offers an exceptional service to support its growing customer base. This includes a reliable delivery schedule with on time in full deliveries, quotations delivered within 24-48 hours and in-house technical support. Chris said: “Our business mantra has always been to put the customer front and centre. As such we liaise with customers from the point of order through to delivery so they can schedule accordingly. We proactively assist throughout the project such as advising on the right choice of hardware for the application through to onsite support if needed. It’s a tailored service package which our customers appreciate.” Fentrade Ltd is based in Newport, Wales, and works with trade and retail customers throughout Wales and the West and along the M4, M5 and M6 corridors. It partners with renowned industry brands such as AluK, Kestrel Aluminium and VBH Greenteq and manufactures a full range of aluminium windows, doors, bifolds, inline sliders, GFT commercial screens, shopfronts and curtain walling products from its modern manufacturing facilities. The company is a member of the Council for Aluminium in Building and prides itself on maintaining the highest standards in every area of its business. Chris concludes: “While market factors will always dictate our output, we are confident that our reputation for reliability, service and quality is also playing a critical part in our continued success.”

Tel: 01633 547787 www.fentradealuminium.co.uk

Season’s Greetings from all at DoorCo

GRiPCORE® technology is door perfection, innovated with class-leading engineering to deliver an unrivalled hybrid solid core. Add to your product portfolio to open the door to more sales in 2023.

Email. info@door-co.com | Visit. www.door-co.com Motorway House, Charter Way, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK10 2NY

Experience GRiPCORE® technology with our new AR technology

“IT’S COMPOSITE DOORS, JIM, BUT NOT AS WE KNOW THEM.”

(WITH APOLOGIES TO STAR TREK!)

Attending an Editor’s Open day at Endurance Doors at Brigg in North Lincolnshire, Chris Champion, Editor of Glass News found out about the origins of the company, how it has developed over the years and established an efficient and effective sales model for its high-end products.

The main reason for gathering the trade press together at Endurance Doors was to show off their impressive new showroom. But this is a showroom with a difference. Most showrooms we get to see are packed with product, after all, why not? Surely that makes sense: if the trade or the public are going to venture inside then make sure they see everything that you have to offer – that’s not the case with Endurance. Just seven examples of doors are on display with two from the Classic, Country and Urban Collections, along with a new ultra-premium Avantal doorset: an aluminiumlike, smooth skinned door product. Considering there are 19 door finishes available inside and out, along with 79 different door designs in total you may think that displaying just 7 doors is slightly under selling the company and its products! That’s not the case as MD Stephen Nadin and Head of Group Sales and Marketing, Scott Foster, explained to us. This is a thoroughly modern and cutting edge showroom that employs both online and face to face design consultations and generates high quality leads for Endurance’s Installer Partners. They are using it as a test bed for developing new marketing ideas and the model may well be expanded to other areas of the country in the fullness of time. One immediate question came to mind: why a showroom in Brigg when the company is already a large employer in the area and their products must be well known already? The answer is that their whole model is based on working directly with Installer Partners and supplying highly qualified leads to them. That’s fine for North Lincolnshire but what happens if I live down south and would really like to see a door and talk about it before committing to a purchase? The fact is that people travel and even though the showroom has only been opened recently people are travelling from Hertfordshire, Suffolk and Birmingham, just to mention a few, to get a consultation in the showroom. And that makes some sense. If you are investing in a new entrance door that may well cost a few £thousand, spending a day investigating the product is time well spent. I asked what happens when I want to know the cost of a specific fully hung doorset? I’m told quite clearly that this is a matter for the Installer Partner. You mean I can’t buy direct from Endurance or even get a price indication? Definitely not. This I had to test! Approaching the Consumer Sales Manager at the front desk, Wendy, I tried to persuade her to spill the beans on price but, what was said previously, was spot on. I was referred to an installer in my area who would give me a price. Was I satisfied with that answer? Not really. However, I soon realised that the reasoning was all about where you live and the prevailing prices in that area. Will prices be different if I live in Chelsea as opposed to, say, Doncaster? Absolutely they will. So, the pricing is completely up to the Installer Partners. They purchase the product at the trade price and sell it at the price that their local market expects and can sustain. Can I buy direct from Endurance by going into the showroom? No, and no means no!

You have to admire the stance that Endurance has taken over this sales model and their Installer Partners must love them! In fact, I’m looking forward to interviewing one of their Installer Partners in the future to get their take on the model.

The showroom is beautifully appointed in a modern but comfortable way and has all the technology you would expect so that a customer can go through the process of choosing the right door for them and even see it on their own house. Of course, this sort of technology is not new, and you can do it from the comfort of your own home with many competitor products but, doing it along with advice and the assurance provided by an experienced and helpful consultant will make it that much easier to release the fingers that are holding on so tightly to your hard-earned cash!

You may well ask how this specific business model came about as it is so different from models adopted by most composite door manufacturers? The answer lies with the March 2021 management buyout by Stephen Nadin and the senior management team. Where this MBO, or MBI, differs from most others is that they have no VC demanding their 33.33% IRR. That makes a vast difference as to how you choose to run your company and their choice is to deal directly with Installer Partners. There are no slab sales to fabricators: all product is a fully hung doorset manufactured in Brigg with a Rehau outerframe. Rocal uses Endurance as its brand name and it has been associated with solid and

Demonstrating the Door Builder The comfortable and welcoming showroom

“You have to admire the stance that Endurance has taken over this sales model and their Installer Partners must love them!”

Automatic glueing of the PVCu skins

secure composite doors since 2002. They pass all the cut through tests and PAS24 with ease, and indeed Hunter from the ‘90s series of Gladiators has attempted the hammer test on these doors without success. With a slight smirk, Scott Foster admits that his efforts got through a GRP door, another timber composite, but not the Endurance Door. Their door is made with a solid timber core of LVL, CoolSkin technology: a heat-reflective, foiled door skin that drastically decreases issues such as door skins cracking and fading and also allows a perfect colour match between door slab and frame, Rehau PVCu door frames, a unique Moisture Barrier System (MBS) and the use of recycled reinforcement. The Rocal Group has its own in-house facilities for tool making, extrusion and foil lamination and still manufactures PVCu panels and extrudes a variety of other products although it must be said that around 85% of the £30 million sales are for the Endurance composite door. This is not a small employer in North Lincolnshire with some 250 employees at their 6 acre manufacturing facility that provides a nationwide distribution system. That certainly sounds like a big payroll but, on looking around their facilities and seeing what they do quickly explains the numbers. But they don’t just concentrate on manufacture. Much effort has been put into the business model and supporting all those Installer Partners, and that includes technology investment as well as people. They have Touch, which has been built by Business Micros, and provides what Endurance term the ‘Ultimate Sales Tool’ that allows customers to efficiently design, quote and order products online. It can be branded and also allows Endurance to benchmark sales conversions and tailor their support for installers. There are Marketing, Customer and Technical hubs all providing information for installers plus, and importantly, training and learning with online Academy, training days at HQ and regular webinars. There is also Amicus, Endurances own internal resolution platform that allows communication with installers and allows complete visibility of all support requests, the Endurance team performance, and customer sentiment. Customers can control deliveries and track deliveries in real time and it also has paperless signing. Does everything go perfectly every time? Of course not, and that’s why they have a team of service engineers to tackle any issues for the installer. Once a manufacturing issue has been reported and confirmed, the friendly team liaise directly with the homeowner, booking an appointment for one of the highly skilled Service Engineers to correct their issues. All within a 3-week lead time.

While excellence in manufacturing, providing service and training and a high class product is essential for a growing and thriving business, Endurance also take their responsibilities seriously and that includes sustainability and aiming to be Net Zero. This takes time and money but although being a recent buy-out with a call on funds from every quarter, the Rocol Group is investing in their efforts towards this goal. Their efforts could be the subject of an article all on its own but suffice it to say they have a Sustainability Roadmap set up and key stakeholders are working towards net zero by 2030. Solar panel installations are currently in progress and electric vehicles are on order to replace the current fleet. In the case of lighting, LED lighting is now around 85% complete and all aspects of waste is being reviewed. Time is being invested into exploring options such as Biomass, rainwater capture and on-site shredding and OEE Machine monitoring is in place to drive their lean manufacturing transformation. All of this will be validated, their ESG, through ISO accreditations ISO 26000, ISO 14001 and also Rocal’s Carbon Neutrality through the PAS2060 standard. In summary, this is a company that is very serious about its products, customers, staff and sustainability credentials. With its extrusion facilities, foiling and vac forming it is a complete manufacturer and, by providing a fully hung and glazed door set, is prepared to take on much of the responsibility of a fabricator, including glazing responsibility. Quite simply, they have to be confident in the product they produce as the buck stops with them and if their doorsets aren’t 100%, it is them that will take the service call and we all know that being called back to a job is one of the most expensive parts of our businesses! All credit must go to Stephen Nadin and his team for an impressive set-up in North Lincolnshire.