Commercial shading

Commercial SHADING

Commercial Shading Solutions from Apollo Blinds

Apollo Blinds is in the unique position of being a trusted contractor that supplies and installs blinds for commercial projects. As the franchisee for this area, we are part of the UK’s largest network of installers serving the commercial and residential markets.

We use our local experience and years of expertise to install made-to-measure blinds and awnings for a wide range of local businesses and organisations, such as schools, restaurants, gyms, hairdressers, offices and hotels.And for larger projects, we can draw on the strength of our head office team to provide any additional support needed.

Let us tell you more about who we are, who we’re part of, who we work with, how we fulfil commercial contracts, what products we recommend for commercial projects, an example of a recent project (which was nominated for a blinds industry award) and why contractors and businesses choose to work with Apollo Blinds.

Shading for Commercial Premises

Which of the following is the most important reason to install shading in a commercial building?

• To help adapt to the challenges of climate change

• To prevent overheating, which can make a space uncomfortable, or even unsafe to work in

• To control light and glare – especially in environments where there are lots of screens

• To create productive environments – controlling light and heat whilst maintaining good air quality and room temperature

• To reduce heat loss – helping lower energy bills, aiming towards net-zero carbon

• To complete the aesthetics of the building

Or all of the above?

Apollo Blinds is supporting the British Blinds and Shutter Association’s (BBSA) campaign to raise awareness of the issue of overheating in commercial premises.

The BBSA highlights that many commercial buildings in the UK simply do not have the correct shading solutions to meet the challenges of current and future climates.

The organisation estimates that around £58 billion will need to be spent to make buildings more suitable. The BBSA points out that air-conditioning units and triple glazing are only part of the solution. Correct shading solutions have a greater role to play in helping to reduce overheating in summer and insulating against heat-loss in winter in commercial buildings.

Using less power via air conditioning units in the summer and heating in the winter can help towards net carbon zero targets.

Optimum temperature range: 20°- 24°

Optimum temperature for best performance is 22°*

During times of peak solar gain overheating can cause employee discomfort*

The Shard London, is a fully glazed building with a double-skinned façade and windows fitted with automated blinds. The architects have acknowledged that the success of this iconic building would not have been possible without solar shading. With the interstitial blinds lowered, the Shard achieves a gtot of just 0.12 (88% heat rejection) for a building clad entirely in glass.

Access to windows and daylight resulted in absenteeism reduction of 15%*

Blinds installation may reduce energy consumption by 15%*

About Apollo Blinds

There are two distinct parts to Apollo Blinds:

Commercial – we can fulfil a variety of commercial projects where being responsive, being flexible and working to tight deadlines are of paramount importance.

We are able to work to existing specifications or make recommendations of suitable alternatives and prepare competitive quotes.

When there is a large volume of installations on a time-critical schedule, or perhaps complex multi-phase work, we can utilise the expertise and support of our head office team. For smaller projects, as we are based in your local area, we are on hand to complete installations with quick turnaround times and to provide timely aftersales support.

Residential – we are local window coverings experts who specialise in advising homeowners on shading solutions for their homes (such as blackout blinds or energy-saving blinds). We also provide products that add value to a home, such as shutters and awnings. Our installers are also experts in motorisation and home automation systems.

Proudly part of Hunter Douglas

Apollo Blinds is part of Hunter Douglas, the world’s leading manufacturer of window coverings and a major supplier of architectural products. Its strength is its ability to develop innovative high-quality, proprietary products that can be found in millions of homes and commercial buildings around the globe. It operates as a highly decentralised, global federation of companies that manufacture and market locally.

Supporting Your Project

We support you with:

• Site surveys – we have team members across the UK, which means that we can respond quickly to requests for site surveys

• Specification checks – as part of any site survey, we will check the specifications of any products listed against issues, such as practicality, suitability and durability. Where appropriate, we will make recommendations that are better suited and better value for money

• UK-manufactured products – the vast majority of our window blinds are manufactured in the UK, many of which are produced at the production facility within our Glasgow head office

• Manufacturing consistency – for large projects, our procurement team ensure that there is sufficient stockholding of the same material from the same batch of fabrics so that all the blinds manufactured are exactly the same

• Delivery of materials to site – we can arrange local storage very close to any site, where all materials are delivered ahead of installation

• Installation – we can draw on our network of installers and head office team to ensure we have experienced installers for each phase of installation. All work is overseen by our Contract Installation Manager

• Other trades – our teams are used to working alongside other trades on site, and communication is key to ensuring all trades can complete their installations without hindrance

• ESG compliance – we are used to ensuring compliance with most aspects of a contractor’s ESG requirements

• Site-approptiate PPE – our installation teams have their own PPE

Commercial Blind Products

We have an extensive range of commercial fabrics in popular ranges, which include:

• Roller blinds

• Screen Roller blinds

• Vertical blinds

• Cassette Zip blinds

• Curtain tracks

• Roman blinds

• Pleated blinds

• Duette® blinds

• Venetian blinds

• Shutters

• Awnings

Flame retardant

We currently offer more than 350 fire-retardant fabrics, including some fabrics like Trevira CS, which have inherently flame-retardant fibres woven into the weave of the fabric yarn.

Print your logo on your blinds or awnings

We can print your logo or branding onto your window coverings or awnings so that they can be seen internally or externally to enhance awareness of your business.

Part of a Winning Team

Being part of Hunter Douglas, the world’s leading manufacturer of window coverings, means that we work in close partnership with the largest and most innovative window covering businesses in the UK and Europe.

We have unparalleled access to fabrics, components, motors and everything else that goes into producing best-in-class window blinds and coverings.

Here’s a selection of who we partner with:

Case Study

A recent project for Lovell

As part of Birmingham City Council’s Perry Barr Residential Scheme, Lovell won the contract to transform six accommodation blocks that were built but never used for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Lovell refitted the blocks (which ranged from 4 to 15 floors) to create 270 one-and two-bedroom social housing dwellings for vulnerable families.

As part of the project, Lovell stipulated that all the blinds had to be manufactured in the UK. It also needed a company that was very responsive, flexible and able to work at speed in respect of surveys, delivery and installation.

The original specification was for Roller blinds only, but following a site survey, Venetian and Vertical blinds were also specified for some windows. These options were sampled and supplied to Lovell and Birmingham City Council for testing and approval. A total of 1,060 windows needed blinds, and the final product split was 50% Roller blinds, 40% Vertical blinds and 10% Venetian blinds.

“Apollo Blinds was very competitively priced and had the resources to complete the installation in a tight time frame. Operationally, the process was very professional, and they were very responsive to any request that we had.

We valued their professional opinion and agreed with their recommendation to install Venetian and Vertical blinds where they were more appropriate than Roller blinds.

Some of the installers were from the area, which created another local connection between the project and the local community to increase the number of affordable houses.”

Lovell’s Senior Quantity Surveyor, Rob Bartlett

This project was nominated for: Large-scale Commercial Shading Installation at the British Blind and Shutter Association (BBSA) Awards 2024.

Why Choose Apollo Blinds as Your Contractor Partner?

Part of the world’s largest window blinds manufacturer

National coverage, local support

Blinds manufactured in the UK

Competitive pricing

Review specifications as part of a site survey

Working with a growing number of tier 1 and 2 contractors

Responsive, flexible and adaptable to changing deadlines

Industry-leading ranges of commercial blinds

Expert team of installers

Work to tight deadlines and phases

Committed to vigilant health and safety procedures

Provide full risk assessments on all commercial installations

High-quality fabric printing service for logos, etc. to enhance your company profile / corporate identity