Window News Magazine March 2023

Stepped and Contemporary Styles

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Cover picture: Pyramid Profiles And Pyramid Aluminium Re-Brand As Pyramid Group. Read more on page 32

UAP Welcomes Specialist Online Business To The Group

UAP, a specialist in locks and hardware for doors and windows, continues to expand with the purchase of an online business.

The acquisition of Maher London, which manufactures door hardware, fixings, and decorating tools, is UAP’s second within the last two months. In December 2022, UAP snapped up Security Hardware from Eurocell PLC adding domestic PVC-U door and windows hardware to its growing product portfolio.

Sold exclusively via online retailers, including Amazon, Maher London’s products are supplied under three brands – Xfort, Sequal and Renov8.

The deal builds on an existing relationship which has seen UAP supply door hardware products to Maher London over the last 3 years.

“We have seen Maher London rapidly grow and have been impressed by the team’s specialist knowledge of online retailing,” explained Bonnie Hodson, chief financial officer of UAP. “This expertise will significantly strengthen UAP’s online presence, both in the UK and overseas, and further broadens our product offering.

“Strategically, the acquisition means we can respond more effectively to the latest buying trends, which since the pandemic, have not only seen more consumers make online purchases, but tradespeople as well.”

Adnan Haruf, director at Maher London said: “My business partner, Hassan Jamil, and myself built Maher London with a focus on offering our customers exceptional levels of service,

quality and value.

“We have taken great pride in scaling up the company, especially the Xfort brand. Our ambition is to build Xfort’s reputation around the world, and with the backing of the UAP group, we are confident we can do just that.

“Since working with UAP, we have benefited from the team’s experience, product range and buying power. We are excited to be part of the group and to see all our brands thrive.”

Maher London is the fourth company to join UAP within recent years. Prior to acquiring Security Hardware in 2022, UAP purchased Newcastle-based Locking Systems in 2020, and Yorkshirebased Intelligent Hardware in 2019.

Continued Bonnie: “We have an ambitious growth strategy which means we are proactively identifying complementary businesses to join our group. Our aim is to develop an unrivalled product range, ensuring we can meet the needs of a broad range of customers while prioritising quality and customer service.”

uapcorporate.com

GGF Pilot Scheme Heralded a Success As Pulse Testing Goes Nationwide

Safestyle Introduces A 15 Year Guarantee To It’s Double Glazed Units

Safestyle, window and door provider, announced the introduction of a 15 year guarantee on its double glazed units.

The Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF) has announced that following a successful pilot scheme for the provision of pulse testing, the service is now available to all installers (GGF members and nonmembers) nationwide.

“Pulse testing allows installation companies to demonstrate compliance to the muchdebated Approved Document F legislation regarding ventilation and indoor air quality,” says Dave Mechem, director of inspection & assessment. “The test shows the airtightness of a building pre and post installation and often, when replacing like for like PVC-U windows, the reading doesn’t change. If this is the case and installers have the test evidence to prove it, there is no need for additional ventilation.

“We have carefully researched the technology and completed a pilot scheme for the tests to ensure everything is in place to support installers. Now that we

have finished the pilot scheme in the south and south east, we are ready to go nationwide. The service won’t be restricted to GGF members either because we believe it is so important for the industry. The market is challenging enough, without having to worry about additional ventilation requirements, that often aren’t necessary. Of course, there will be exceptions, in which case extra vents will need to be considered.

“The tests take less than half an hour to complete and the results are available immediately, so offer installers a great way to prove compliance. The technology itself is quick and easy to use with people in the home, so effortlessly fits into the installation process.

“We are excited to offer this service to all installers nationwide and bookings can be made at https://bit.ly/3SBVCqM GGF and FENSA members can also benefit from discounted rates for the service.”

From the 6th of March 2023, customers will be provided with a 15 year guarantee across all Safestyle’s double glazed units. This adds an extra 5 years piece of mind onto the 10 year guarantee that was previously offered.

Safestyle prides itself on providing quality installations that will stand the test of time, whilst understanding and fulfilling the need to support customers by promising to fix any faults free of charge during the extended guarantee period.

The new 15 year guarantee covers all double glazed units supplied and fitted by Safestyle, including externally sourced PVC and aluminium bi-fold doors and vertical sliding sash windows.*

*For further information on Safestyle’s 15 and 10 year guarantee, please visit the website here:

https://bit.ly/3T1RqAQ

New MD Spells New Product Growth For Alunet & JDUK

Hot on the heels of a complete rebrand last year for fast-growing aluminium home improvement product companies, Alunet Systems and JDUK Door Systems, comes the announcement of the appointment of Steve Kendrick as managing director. This will allow Steve Hudson, Group CEO, to spend more time across the other businesses in the group, as it nears annual turnover of £50m. Steve Kendrick will already be known to many through his previous roles in the industry. He spoke to Window News about what his new role means to the companies and their customers…

“I’m really excited to join Steve Hudson and his team, along with Jason, Paul and Mike,” Steve Kendrick says. “I’m looking forward to growing the businesses with the teams

here at Alunet and JDUK. We’ve got so many exciting product launches and I hope my experience and my background will benefit how we grow and develop within the market.

“I joined my first systems company in 2008 and since, have built up experience in manufacturing, product development and launches. So, I’m excited to be able to apply that knowledge to make the most of the many opportunities there now are for Alunet and JDUK and the future that lies ahead of us!

“We’ve got some exciting product launches in store on both sides of the business. We’ve got a fantastic set up in terms of people, and we’re just scratching the surface in terms of our customer base. For example, on the Alunet

side, we are currently launching a new window and the ESS47 super slim sliding patio door system, which launched earlier this year, is already a new firm favourite with our customers. On the JDUK side, we have been working on some new additions to our current range, which will really benefit our customers.

“It’s always exciting to be working on product additions and developments, especially when they are genuinely exciting. We have really focussed on sourcing top quality products from the best extruders around the world, who coincidentally are all based in Europe. Moving forward, working with European partners will make such a difference to our lead times, the stability of the supply chain and being able to work with each other effectively and efficiently.

“We already have one of the most popular designs on the market for our aluminium profile system for single doors, French doors and bifolding doors and windows, which we have been selling for 7 years now, with over 3000 doors worth of material sold every month! And we have the capacity to hold £3 million worth of stock right here in the UK. This puts us in a great position from which to build upon.

“Over the next six months, I’m looking forward to getting to know, and working with the team at Alunet Systems and JDUK, along with meeting our customers. It’s great that we’re going to be exhibiting at the FIT show, and that’s where you’ll get to meet me and our team and see our products in situ at stand G35 and see what else we can offer to the market.”

You can watch Steve Kendrick’s full interview at https://bit.ly/3LbTS5X

www.alunetsystems.co.uk

(Left – right) Steve Kendrick and Steve Hudson

Modular Group Investments (MGI) Completes Acquisition Of Oakland Glass Ltd

Modular Group Investments Ltd (MGI) has announced the acquisition of Oakland Glass Ltd. This is a key strategic addition to the Group, which adds significant capacity and capability in insulated double glazed unit production, and provides established routes to market for Oakland Glass through MGI’s existing and future channels.

Oakland Glass was established in 1986, providing high-quality IGUs to the market, and has steadily grown into one of the market leaders in its field. It combines traditional values and expertise to provide ‘A Service That’s First Class’, and has established strong and long-standing relationships with customers, suppliers and employees.

MGI purchased the entire share

capital of Oakland Glass Ltd, with the transaction closing on 8th February 2023.

Michael Garratt, founder at MGI said: “I am very excited to add Oakland Glass Ltd to our Group and to have the opportunity to build upon what the team has created. We look forward to a promising future together – MGI plans to acquire more componentry manufacturing business this year in order to continue to diversify our product portfolio, but also to strengthen our customer relationships by offering more products and service.”

Giles Richell, group CEO at MGI said: “This is a great addition to the MGI Group and provides a depth and scale of vertical integration that we believe is unmatched by

Valuable Customer Support From Direct Trade Windows

In the midst of an unpredictable market, it’s vital that manufacturers not only deliver high-quality products, but that they provide valuable customer support. And at Direct Trade Windows, that’s exactly what customers are getting, says the company.

Working from a state-of-theart manufacturing facility just outside London, the trade supplier provides a wide range of Smart products, including the Smart Alitherm Heritage range, Smart AluSpace interior doors, VS600 aluminium vertical sash windows, Smart EcoFutural commercial windows, as well as Visofold 6000 slim bi-folds.

The company also supplies a selection of Cortizo products, such as casement windows, the COR Vision sliding door, and 4600 lift and slide.

“We’re very proud of our vast range of products, but we also place a lot of importance on helping our customers – after all, even the best products won’t go very far without customer support,” comments director AJ Hassanali.

“One way we’ve been able to do this is by investing in state-ofthe-art machinery, allowing us to streamline our processes and maintain an eight-week lead time, ensuring our customers can get the products they need, as soon

our competition. This will allow us to supply our multiple construction markets with the best service and most competitive solutions in the industry.”

Amanda Falsey will be continuing in her role as managing director and Tina Moorhouse will stay on in her capacity as Oakland sales director. MGI very much welcomes Amanda and her team to the Group and looks forward to working with them and growing the business further with our help and support.

modulargroupinvestments.co.uk

as possible.

We’ve invested heavily in software solutions in order to help our trade customers take the lead, the first of which is a quoting app that can also be used to provide installers with lucrative leads, sales support and infrastructure when they need it.

“Another software solution we’ve brought on board is Air Table, which allows clear visuals of ongoing factory processes at any given time, enabling us to provide exact and guaranteed delivery times to our customers.

“The software is able to immediately flag up any issues such as delivery delays, meaning our customers are always kept up to date with extremely accurate information.”

Michael Garrat

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Inflation Still Drives Growth

Nominal Uplift In Q4 2022 Sales, But

Total value sales data from Britain’s Builders’ Merchants shows Q4 2022 recorded +2.9% year-on-year growth, with +16.4% price inflation compensating for volumes which fell -11.6%. With one less trading day this year, like-for-like value sales were +4.6% higher.

Ten of the 12 categories sold more in Q4 2022 compared to the previous year with Renewables & Water Saving again growing the most (+48.6%). Plumbing, Heating & Electrical (+18.6%) and

Workwear & Safetywear (+14.8%) both recorded their highest quarterly revenues and were among the nine categories growing faster than Merchants overall. Only Landscaping (-5.9%) and Timber & Joinery Products (-11.5%) sold less.

Comparing Q4 2022 with Q4 2019, a more normal pre-Covid trading year, sales for October to December 2022 were +24.4% higher than the same months three years ago. Volume sales were -7.6% down and prices were up

+34.7%. All categories sold more including significant increases for Renewables & Water Saving (+59.3%), Landscaping (+32.2%), Timber & Joinery Products (+27.9%), and Heavy Building Materials (+25.9%) which all grew faster than total Merchants.

Quarter-on-quarter, total value sales were -13.9% down in Q4 compared to Q3. Volume sales were -18.3% down while prices were up +5.4%. With five less trading days in the most recent period, overall like-for-like sales were -6.6% lower than Q3. Plumbing, Heating & Electrical (+13.2%) grew the most, followed by Workwear & Safetywear and Renewables & Water Saving (both +7.1%). Seasonal category Landscaping (-33.6%) was the weakest.

Lacklustre December sales didn’t help Q4, as total value sales dipped -1.7% compared to December 2021. Volume sales in December 2022 were down -17.9% and prices were up +19.7%. Taking trading days

into account, like-for-like sales were +4.5% higher in December 2022, with one less trading day. Nine of the twelve categories sold more with Renewables & Water Saving (+42.3%) the strongest performing category. Plumbing, Heating & Electrical (+19.1%), Decorating (+12.1%) and Kitchens & Bathrooms (+10.0%) also did better, while Timber & Joinery Products (-15.4%) and Landscaping (-17.4%) both sold less.

Total value sales in December 2022 were +24.4% higher than the same month three years ago, with one more trading day this year. Likefor-like sales were +16.6% up. Volume sales were -10.9% lower and prices climbed +39.6%. All categories sold more, again led by Renewables & Water Saving (+60.5%).

Compared to the previous month, December 2022 total merchant sales were down -35.1% on November 2022. Volume sales were -38.3% lower and prices rose +5.3%. All categories sold less, which is in line with the seasonal trading patterns we would expect in December.

Mike Rigby, CEO of MRA Research who produce this report, said:

“Renewables & Water Saving products – one of the smaller categories tracked by BMBI –took off in Q3 2022, and has pretty much stayed in front as products which save energy or water are in high demand by trades and homeowners. With no end in sight to the astronomical energy bills which marred 2022 and a further review of the Energy Price Guarantee (which expires in April) due soon, there is a lot of uncertainty over what households will be paying for gas and electricity in 2023. Those with money in the bank are purchasing energy savings products to ease their utility bill woes.

“So far the economy has hovered on the brink of recession, and if the recession isn’t as deep as expected and inflation continues to fall, we may see a gradual return in consumer confidence. And perhaps an end to the permacrisis mindset that we’ve been locked in since 2020, which will be positive news for new building and RMI markets. But it has some way to go! Consumer spending is an important driver of the economy, so consumer confidence matters and GfK’s Consumer Confidence Barometer shows how far it has to recover. Confidence fell 3 points in January to -45, a near-historic low. That’s not surprising given how battered and bruised is a large section of the population. Interesting perhaps as an indicator of how the Haves, older homeowners who’ve paid off or nearly paid off their mortgages, are feeling, the Savings Index (which is not a component of the confidence index) is still positive at +14, just one point down on January last year. That’s some contrast with the precipitous drop in overall consumer confidence from -19 in January 2022 to -45 in January 2023. Whichever way you cut it, it’ll be a difficult year ahead.”

The Q4 2022 BMBI report is available to download at www.bmbi.co.uk

ERG Smashes Sales Glass Ceiling With Record Year

A Highlands-based window and conservatory business has defied the cost-of-living crisis to shatter its annual sales target, securing more than £4.5m orders in a record-breaking year.

ERG, which employs 45 people at its Clayton Court base in Invergordon, has overcome a turbulent economic climate to paint a hugely positive picture of its own courtesy of continued investment in products and service and the adoption of new sales and marketing practices.

Headed up by Ian Joy, the company has been helping homeowners since 1974, offering the design and installation of windows, doors, replacement roofs and contemporary living spaces, such as conservatories and orangeries.

Over the years it has built up a wide-ranging customer base covering an area the size of Belgium, spanning from Fort William to Inverness, and as far north as Wick.

The management team doesn’t attribute ERG’s success to a single magic bullet, but instead

prefers to focus on targeted inward investment and the support of its manufacturing partner, Conservatory Outlet.

“We’ve got an incredible team at ERG and our success – in the face of some turbulent times –is testament to their talent and hard work. We’re looking ahead and we’re aiming to break the £5m mark for the first time in 2023,” commented Ian, who has been with the business for 40 years.

“You could put our growth down to the theory of marginal gains because we have made modifications to the business, and they have all combined to help us reach this target.

“Crucially, we have invested in our own practices at a time when many other companies might well have tightened their belts. The strategic decision to do this was critical in our success and was reinforced when we finished 2022 with £337,000 of sales – our bestever December.”

www.ergscotland.co.uk

www.conservatoryoutlet.co.uk

Rehau Makes Practical Steps Towards Circular Economy In 2021 Sustainability Report

continuously improve Rehau’s products and services in multiple areas of sustainability.

“Despite the challenges we and many others faced as a result of the pandemic, we’ve stayed committed to further developing our recycling methods, increasing the amount of material we reuse to prevent it ending up in landfill,” says Martin Hitchin, CEO at Rehau UK. “We are especially pleased that last year we accomplished further crucial steps based on our sustainability strategy looking beyond the original lifecycle of a window. The publication of this latest Sustainability Report demonstrates our dedication to practicing what we preach and presenting full transparency around the necessary steps that we have taken to do this.”

Further assisting with product traceability within the entire supply chain, Rehau plans to introduce Window.ID to the market as its sustainable flagship project. The digital ID makes it possible to track a window throughout its entire product life cycle, from production to recycling, supporting prominent shifts towards eco-friendly practises.

Rehau has published its 2021 Sustainability Report, with key focuses on the continued steps taken to progress towards closed loop recycling management and reinvent how people work in a post-Covid age.

While the effects of the pandemic were felt by all in 2021, the circular economy remained at the top of Rehau’s priorities. The PVCu supplier has continued to advance its sustainable recycling methods, increasing the proportion of recyclates in new products. This

has meant that the company is well ahead of its 2025 target of 15.0%, which was achieved using polymer processing facilities such as PVCR in Runcorn, Cheshire –which turns discarded PVC into high-quality granulate for use in new window profiles.

Recyclate targets are set to be revised starting this year, with the recently developed Rehau circular economy scorecard providing the framework for the evaluation and implementation of the closed loop approach. The aim is to

Martin concludes: “The sustainability of polymer continues to be a talking point for the fenestration industry and our goal is to continually invest in initiatives such as recycling production waste in our own or external recycling facilities. Sustainability has become even more of a key consideration over the past year and homeowners are becoming more concerned with how environmentally friendly their property is. We would encourage installers to source out more ecological solutions and it’s the job of suppliers to support them in their choice.”

To download the complete Rehau Sustainability Report 2021, click HERE.

Tradelink Direct Announced As Yale SensCheck Partner

Yale has announced Tradelink Direct as a brand new partner for SensCheck, the company’s range of integrated smart door and window lock sensors.

The partnership will see Tradelink Direct supply all its Soteria composite doors with SensCheck compatibility as standard. This will enable homeowners to check the status of their doors and windows using their smartphones and devices while providing a ‘smart advantage’ for installers.

Tradelink Direct is a manufacturer of doors and windows with over 29 years of experience within the industry. The company recently launched its Soteria cross ply solid core and foam filled composite doors which have been developed specifically for the UK market. Having passed the rigours of PAS 24 in line with Approved Document Q, the Soteria is claimed to offer

the highest level of security with increased resistance to forced entry and reinforced GRP skins as standard.

Stuart Judge, managing director at Tradelink Direct, comments:

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Yale as the company’s SensCheck smart-compatible lock technology is unrivalled in the market. As a business, we share many similar values to Yale and place a lot of emphasis on the importance of high-quality products.

“As well as fitting SensCheck compatible hardware as standard on our Soteria lift-lever composite doors, our Soteria auto-firing composite doors will also come with Yale Lockmaster AutoEngage and Platinum TS007 3 star cylinder because I feel it is important for the consumer to see a brand story across all of the high quality security hardware.”

With Yale SensCheck, homeowners are notified via the Yale Smart Living Home App if their doors are open or closed, locked or unlocked. The range has been accredited with the BSI kitemark for the Internet of Things (IoT). This provides a guarantee that it has been rigorously tested to ensure that it is safe, secure and functions properly as part of an ecosystem of connected products.

Yale SensCheck has been awarded the Secured by Design (SBD) ‘Secure Connected Device’ accreditation, achieving the required standard for both physical and cyber security attributes. It is also compatible with leading voice partners Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

Nick Scott, account manager at Yale Door and Window Solutions comments: “We’re delighted to welcome on board Tradelink Direct as another trusted partner for our SensCheck range.

“Door and window manufacturers are recognising the smart security opportunities as more and more homeowners start to invest in smart home technology and creating smart ecosystems within their properties.”

www.tradelinkdirect.com

https://bit.ly/3m66zEU

Express Bi-Folding Doors Launch New National Trade Service For 2023

doors and aluminium windows and doors for garden rooms.

Steve Bromberg, managing director of Express Bi-Folding Doors, said: “This new trade service is all thanks to our on site design and manufacturing hub in Leeds, which has seen upwards of £250,000 investment recently making this possible.

“We’re very protective of our brand and product range, so it’s important people fully understand what our range is about, how it should look and what needs to be in place to make it the perfect addition to a home.

“That’s why the national open days are important as it gives new trade customers the chance to see, touch and feel our industry-leading products and talk to us directly about what makes them the best in the business.”

Family-run door and window firm Express Bi-Folding Doors, has launched a new national trade service featuring same-week access to its best-selling ranges as part of its ongoing expansion.

The company is continuing its growth on the back of two record-breaking years by rolling out its 2022 new product releases to their trade customers, plus a new service, The Express Selection, where trade professionals can buy the company’s most popular products and have them delivered within five working days almost anywhere in the UK.

The new project will launch with three showroom open days in

Leeds, Weybridge and Romford where industry professionals will be invited to see their finished products in situ.

The independent company’s showrooms feature their stateof-the-art products in finished form, including full size houses installed with Express products, demonstrating how the finished articles look in real life.

Express’ aim is to offer a wide range of bespoke products alongside a selection of readyto-go products made up of their most popular lines in a range of sizes, so trade customers can get access to them in just days. These include the XP10 bi-folding doors, XP77 entrance

The new bespoke products and the Express Selection will be available for nationwide delivery as the firm casts its net even further across the UK.

The open days will be on Wednesday February 22 in Weybridge, Wednesday March 1 in Romford and Friday March 3 in Leeds at their relevant showrooms.

Express will also be taking part in the UK’s biggest trade shows including Grand Designs Live and Homebuilding & Renovation where its latest products will be on display to a residential audience as well as the trade.

https://bit.ly/3ZxnsHg

Tradeglaze Invests In Machinery To Boost Aluminium Production Capacity

Lincoln fabricator Tradeglaze has taken delivery of a new CNC machining centre for its aluminium factory, investing a six-figure sum to boost the fabricator’s capacity. The upgrade is part of an ambitious growth programme that the company, which specialises in the supply and install to trade and commercial customers, accelerated last year to respond to unprecedented demand in the construction and home improvement markets.

The new Emmegi Phantomatic X4’ CNC machining centre is the fourth addition to the fabricator’s portfolio in the past 12 months. The award-winning manufacturer recently received a new glass table, a spacer bar cutting machine and a double mitre saw for their uPVC and glass factories on Bishop’s Road, Lincoln.

Tradeglaze group managing director Jeremy Wetherall explains: “We are acutely aware

that our customers’ expectations are higher now than ever. Our customers are asking for more foil, more flush, more aluminium and lower U-values. To answer that demand we have upgraded several of our machines. The market is challenging for businesses and research shows that construction is one of the hardest hit.

“We however feel that it’s important that we plan for the long term and that our colleagues are equipped with modern technology that helps with their workload, is faster and more accurate. The next step is a new CNC machine for our uPVC factory. We aim to be able to produce windows and doors for buildings that are ‘zero carbon ready’ well ahead of the building regs changes expected in 2025.”

In a statement, Tradeglaze says: ‘the Emmegi Phantomatic X4 is a machining centre with 4 controlled axes, used for the

handling of aluminium pieces up to 2mm. The machine comes with updated software which includes CAMPLUS for designing, ‘Job’ for order processing and ‘Drill’ for instructing the CNC machine. The Emmegi Phantomatic X4 holds an impressive tool magazine on board allowing it to easily change tools depending on need. Its electro spindle rotates from 0° to 180° continuously to operate on the whole contour of the workpiece, guaranteeing the possibility of working at all intermediate degrees including tenths of a degree changeovers’.

“Our company has been making significant investments across all departments in recent months. Demand has now returned to prepandemic levels but we continue boosting our capacity across all three factories. We have traded resiliently during previous difficult economic periods and with our growth plan well underway we will remain in a strong position and continue providing our trade, commercial as well as domestic customers with exceptional quality double glazing and a five-star service our group of companies are well known and recommended for,” concluded Jeremy Wetherall.

www.tradeglaze.co.uk

We know how a speedy quote can help you to deliver great customer service, so we will always respond within one hour.

MANUFACTURING EXCELLENCE

We only manufacture sealed units with integral blinds inside, supplying other sealed unit manufacturers, fabricators and installers with our high-quality Uni-Blinds® in an industry-leading 10-12 days.

All our sealed units are Argon filled and feature a double seal which helps guarantee the quality and energy performance of your windows and doors, long term.

We have our own fleet of vehicles to ensure the safe and secure delivery of your integral blinds.

You can rely on us to provide high performance integral blinds, quickly and efficiently.

We advise, train and provide back-up for all Uni-Blinds® installers providing total peace of mind and confidence in the quality of the completed installation.

UNI-BLINDS THE COMPLETE PACKAGE

Less Complexity Improves Relationships

Dekko turned to Deceuninck Aluminium to manufacture products that will sit alongside its high-end Räum range of windows and doors when the fabricator reviewed its options in 2022.

“There are many things to consider when you choose a supplier for your flagship brand,” explained Dekko’s sales director Kurt Greatrex. “Yes, you want a flexible partnership, and you want quality products, but you also want that something extra

– and the Decalu88 Bi-folding Door gives us tangible selling points that we can pass on to our consumers.”

Kurt explained that the product’s energy efficiency credentials –U-values as low as 0.68W/m2k triple-glazed or 1.4W/m2k doubleglazed making it Part L and Future Homes ready – are vital for any business looking to futureproof themselves against the introduction of the Future Homes Standard in 2025.

But the fact that the Decalu88 Bi-folding Door is available in any single or dual RAL colour option – textured and metallic finishes –and is Marine Grade as standard, helps Dekko position itself as a modern forward-thinking company as homeowners and specifiers choose coloured products in greater numbers than ever before.

Already a fabricator of Deceuninck PVC-U profile, Dekko was familiar with the brand, and recognised the benefits offering Deceuninck across the board would bring. Despite this, Kurt explained that the Lancashire-based fabricator was only going to introduce the Decalu88 B-Folding Door and Entrance Door to its range.

“That was until we got a request

from a customer to fabricate the Decalu163 Lift-and-Slide Door to a £1.1m 12-month project in London,” Kurt said. “It was one of those rare occasions where the project had been up-specced to aluminium from PVC-U, and it would have been too good an opportunity to miss.”

Also, ultra-energy efficient with U-values of as low as 0.8W/m2k triple-glazed or 1.3W/m2k doubleglazed, making it Part L and Future Homes ready, the Decalu163 Lift-and-Slide Door combines minimalist sightlines with effortless operation despite accommodating individual sash weights of up to 400kg.

“But the request came in at the same time we were setting up to

start manufacturing the Decalu88 Bi-Fold Door and the Decalu88 Entrance Door, so we had to work out if we could take on the Lift-and-Slide Door as well,” Kurt continued.

“As it turned out, thanks to the modular Decalu system, we only needed one extra punch tool to expand our production capability – everything else remained the same.”

Kurt explained that Dekko also has its eyes on the new Decalu88 Flush Casement Window from Deceuninck Aluminium, because it will be attractive to both domestic and commercial customers –especially if they were buying other products from the range.

“People will want the same flush sightlines across all elements of their project,” he said. “But our customers will benefit in other ways – beyond winning more work.

“The feedback we have received from fitters is that the Decalu products are easy to install and easy to glaze. The system is much more straightforward when compared to other aluminium systems.

“Take the bead for example – it is the same across the range. This

not only means that you have a uniform appearance across all glazing elements, but you don’t have multiple beads on site. This means lower stockholding for fitters, but they don’t run the risk of having the wrong bead on site, which means having to return at a later date with the right bead, saving time and money.

“And there are significant benefits for us as a fabricator, especially when it comes to stockholding. On a Decalu system, I only need to stock four separate products. For a similar style aluminium system, that number is ten. That complexity takes up more space, requires more detailed logistics, and ties up my money in stock – up to 200% more.”

Kurt said the immediate benefit for Dekko was improved cash flow, which is a key strength to have as the market starts to cool.

“This attention to detail – the modular system and pre-gasketed beads – also improves my relationship with my customers,” he said. “They are much quicker on site, they are less likely to leave a job unfinished while they wait for the right parts to turn up, and they get paid quicker. Which is what we all want!”

www.dekkowindows.com www.deceuninck.co.uk

Kurt Greatrex, Dekko’s sales director

CNC Recycling Announces New Plant In £2 Million Investment

UPVC Window Recycling specialist CNC Recycling has announced it has completed the installation of its new stateof-the-art recycling facility with sorting and separating equipment for the recovery of clean white and jazz (coloured) of both postindustrial and post-consumer UPVC streams using the latest technology and specialist expertise.

Installation of the Delta Cleaner, Hamos EKS electrostatic separator, Cimbria colour sorting equipment completes the first phase of the install with the integration of the Hamos KWS Unit to follow in April.

This long term commitment to creating sustainable products into the future of UPVC recycling represents an overall investment by CNC Recycling in the region of £2,000,000 over the course of the last twelve months into their infrastructure of recycling old windows and doors back into the fenestration Industry.

The installation of the new plant and equipment will allow for the final processing of UPVC ready for extrusion.

The introduction of the new Hamos separators will achieve UPVC purities of 99.5% in one pass. The Cimbria colour sorting system which is equipped with

high resolution trichromatic cameras separates colour impurities still remaining in the material, so that the UPVC is refined to the highest possible quality ready for extrusion, claims the company.

Managing director Melanie Coates said of the new plant “The investment was the next natural step in our UPVC recycling process to create a closed loop . One of the big hurdles in reuse is processing UPVC so that it can be used effectively into the extrusion of new products. Therefore we have installed a plant that can clean and refine to the highest possible standards. We are very proud of the innovative and technological system installed.”

This latest development represents the next stage across the whole facility as CNC Recycling investments over the last 12 months into additional shredding/granulation/washing and separation steps to recover ferrous, non ferrous and stainless steel from the UPVC waste

streams as well as stones, glass and other impurities.

To compliment the processing/ recovery arm of the company CNC has added three new tractor

units and trailers to their fleet complete with Terberg truck mounted forklift trucks and over ten new smaller collection vehicles to support and ensure a first class service to all our

customers nationally this brings their total fleet count to (40) vehicles.

These are all covered with a new digital paperless waste transfer note system designed specifically for CNC by My Data Crate ensuring all their suppliers are compliant with the necessary legislation.

Investment has continued into our staff which has grown to (55) with the main area of growth being collection drivers, but also in our sales team based at the new Sales office based in Goole. More customer service staff have been added to the team to ensure our customers always have a direct contact should they have a problem, need a collection or have a question they need answering.

www.upvc-recycling.co.uk

AT Precision Launches In-House Recycling Scheme

In an effort to become more environmentally conscious, bi-fold hardware supplier AT Precision has introduced a new Recycled Thermal Reinforcement (RTR) system to its production line, thanks to a new in-house recycling scheme at its Durhambased premises.

The new recycling scheme sees AT Precision picking up unused or unwanted uPVC materials from its customers, and processing these for use in manufacturing its own screw retention profile bars.

Sales director Michael Hewitt explains: “We’ve found that many of our customers are left with unused materials following their production processes, so we’ve introduced our new recycling scheme to ensure that nothing goes to waste.

“Our customers are encouraged to contact us when they have unused uPVC materials to get rid of – we will then collect these and pay them the value of the materials. Once the materials have been collected, we grind and melt them down to produce

“With the climate crisis dominating headlines, making efforts to become more sustainable has been a priority for many in the fenestration sector. At AT Precision, we have a commitment to playing our part in helping the planet, and we feel the new recycling scheme and RTR system have been very worthwhile investments.

“Our new recycling scheme has not only added an additional 10,000 square feet to our manufacturing facility, but also makes us a more sustainable company, while the RTR system provides benefits to both the environment and our customers, such as improved thermal efficiency, quick installation, and a minimum lifespan of 35 years.

“AT Precision has a reputation for providing high-quality, affordable hardware solutions across the country – now, with a new commitment to reducing our carbon footprint, we can not only be the reliable supplier that our customers can rely on, but a sustainable company that prioritises our planet.”

www.atprecision.co.uk

a screw retention profile bar.

Granada Secondary Glazing Set To Create 17 Jobs

single glazed because of either cost or heritage restrictions. This is of course in addition to the countless number of commercial buildings within the UK that are facing the same issue.

“We were delighted when Mr Stafford agreed to put his name to a letter that we’ll be sending to Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. This is a big moment for our sector.”

Craig went on to add: “In line with business growth, we’ve been on a recruitment drive for much of the last year. We currently employ 68 full-time members of staff, with the intention to expand this to 85 over the coming financial year. The expansion of our sales team is going to be crucial in maintaining success, which is why we’re currently in the process of filling three highlevel sales positions throughout the UK.

Granada Secondary Glazing will shortly be creating 17 new jobs. Sales soared by 40% over the last twelve months, the company believes the growth is down to an increasing number of people switching on to the energy and cost saving benefits of secondary glazing in homes.

However, Granada Secondary Glazing still believes Government can do more to incentivise homeowners to invest and invited local MP Alexander Stafford to tour its facility on Campbell Way, meet staff and explore ways where legislation could be changed. He also heard how the firm had invested £1.8m into new production equipment and IT systems since 2020 and how £1m has been channelled into its new secondary glazing solution.

“There’s so much talk about escalating energy prices, yet many households don’t even

realise that they are missing out on a simple and cost-effective way of insulating their homes,” explained Craig Robertson, who joined Granada Secondary Glazing as managing director in February last year.

“We’ve had some outstanding results in the installations we’ve completed recently and wanted to get the ear of Government to see if there was a way that secondary glazing could enjoy similar incentives and grants that other home improvement products receive.”

He continued: “With this in mind, we invited Alexander Stafford MP to have the conversation, so that he fully understood the thermal benefits of our products and what this translates to in pound notes.

“A conservative estimate indicates that up to 3 million homes across the country remain

“Everyone is focused on an incredibly ambitious growth target of £15m by March 2026, which would see us double turnover in just four years – boosting Yorkshire’s manufacturing scene and helping hundreds of homeowners to save on their energy bills in the process.”

Alexander Stafford, MP For Rother Valley, concluded: “It was fantastic to visit Granada Secondary Glazing, an innovative and fast-growing business right in the heart of my constituency of Rother Valley. The company is manufacturing a product that could potentially drive down everyone’s energy bills, and I hope that my visit can generate some interest in secondary glazing amongst local residents. I’m extremely grateful to the team for organising this visit and for the opportunity to see the factory in action.”

DGCOS Members Can Register With Fensa

The Double Glazing & Conservatory Ombudsman Scheme (DGCOS) insurance broker is back on the approved insurance providers list for Fensa, which brings with it a host of benefits for installers, says the company.

Faisal Hussain, chief executive of DGCOS comments: “The insurance broker for DGCOS, UWC, who brokers our Insurance Back Guarantee (IBG) offering to our members to support their customers should they cease trading, has been reappointed as an approved provider by Fensa. This in turn means that DGCOS members can now nominate Fensa as their Competent

Person’s Scheme through us, to support compliance with building regulations for the work they carry out. Each time a job is registered and completed with DGCOS, an IBG is issued and now we can notify Fensa on the member’s behalf so there is no need for duplication, saving administration time and around £1.80 per registration.

“The aim of both organisations is to ensure quality in windows and doors. Fensa is a governmentauthorised scheme that monitors building regulation compliance for replacement windows and doors. DGCOS supports a network of installers, working in the retail sector, who have

been accredited by our strict accreditation process for the product (or products) they sell. The collaboration is a positive for both organisations.”

Tom Butler, head of sales & marketing at the GGF comments: “As the largest community in the glazing industry, it’s important that FENSA Approved Installers have a wide range of IBG providers available to them. We look forward to working with them”.

Faisal concludes: “DGCOS offers more than just IBGs and the now streamlined benefits of registering work under a CPS on your behalf. We support installers at every stage of the journey, from set up and business management assistance, to alternative dispute resolution and ombudsman services, as well as a range of other insurances that protect both our members and their consumer customers. DGCOS is about all round business support, supporting the work that FENSA does in the industry and this collaboration provides a huge bonus for installer business to tie the two services together.”

installers.dgcos.org.uk

REHAU Trims. Creating a complete finish.

Marking another step towards a purely authentic REHAU window solution, we have expanded our offering to include a range of window finishing trims in a select range of standard and niche colours including turner oak, elephant grey and midnight black.

Windows. Reinvented for modern life. rehau.uk/trims

enquiries@rehau.com Tel: 01989 762600

Smart Frame Technologies A Possible Solution Following Supreme Court Decision

A Supreme Court decision that residents have a right to privacy even when their homes are overlooked should spark industry conversations about smart shading technologies, says an industry expert.

The court’s findings that flat owners opposite the Tate Modern’s viewing gallery faced an unacceptable level of intrusion into their homes could potentially have a significant impact on the fenestration sector, according to Russell Hand, head of product management and technical at Rehau. He made the comments following the court’s determination

that flat owners faced ‘constant visual intrusion’ that impacted their ‘ordinary use and enjoyment’ of their properties.

Specifically, Russell drew attention to the upheaval the decision could cause on window specification for installers working in densely populated urban environments on retrofit or newbuild projects. He said: “While the findings have extended the law of privacy to include overlooking in only extreme cases, those involved in the specification process should be vigilant to further challenges that could loosen this criteria.

“The need for privacy may fundamentally change how windows and accessories are selected in built-up areas where space is increasingly at a premium, especially for flats and apartments. Being overlooked may be unavoidable for residents in certain situations, so installers need to plan accordingly by looking into smart privacy technology options that can be implemented into frames.”

Shading solutions have grown in prominence in the windows sector, with suppliers such as Rehau continuing to develop its Smart Privacy solution. Russell believes that the technology, which can make full windows transparent or non-transparent at the push of a button, could provide a solution to the issue arising from overlooked properties.

“Though shading is still in its infancy as a solution, the possibilities the technology presents are very exciting for the industry,” Russell concludes. “Our own option, Smart Privacy, will be the first of its kind to be able to be produced industrially for implementation on residential and commercial properties.

“From talking to the market, we know that occupants don’t always want the classic curtain or blind option, and permanent milky films may not be appropriate as they can block the residents’ view. Controlling visibility through an app or controller therefore looks like the best possible privacy option, and we would encourage fabricators and installers to look out for this technology in the future.”

https://bit.ly/3YdYxY8

Valuable Customer Support From Direct Trade Windows

lift and slide.

“We’re very proud of our vast range of products, but we also place a lot of importance on helping our customers – after all, even the best products won’t go very far without customer support,” comments director AJ Hassanali.

“One way we’ve been able to do this is by investing in stateof-the-art machinery, allowing us to streamline our processes and maintain an eight-week lead time, ensuring our customers can get the products they need, as soon as possible.

In the midst of an unpredictable market, it’s vital that manufacturers not only deliver high-quality products, but that they provide valuable customer support. And at Direct Trade Windows, that’s exactly what customers are getting, says the company.

Working from a state-of-theart manufacturing facility just outside London, the trade supplier provides a wide range of Smart products, including the Smart Alitherm Heritage range, Smart AluSpace interior doors, VS600 aluminium vertical sash windows, Smart EcoFutural commercial windows, as well as Visofold 6000 slim bi-folds.

The company also supplies a selection of Cortizo products, such as casement windows, the COR Vision sliding door, and

We’ve invested heavily in software solutions in order to help our trade customers take the lead, the first of which is a quoting app that can also be used to provide installers with lucrative leads, sales support and infrastructure when they need it.

“Another software solution we’ve brought on board is Air Table, which allows clear visuals of ongoing factory processes at any given time, enabling us to provide exact and guaranteed delivery times to our customers.

“The software is able to immediately flag up any issues such as delivery delays, meaning our customers are always kept up to date with extremely accurate information.”

4600

Warwick North West Marks 25th Anniversary

Trade supplier Warwick North West is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, marking an important achievement for the Merseyside company.

But it’s not just a quarter of a century that’s being celebrated – following 25 years of manufacturing uPVC windows and doors, the company has made a milestone decision to manufacture aluminium products too, offering a wider choice to its installer customers.

Greg Johnson Director Greg Johnson comments: “‘Warwick North West’ is a brand name for our company Warwick Development North West Ltd., which opened its doors back in 1998. In early 2000, we moved to a larger premises, and in 2002 we made a great decision to start manufacturing Eurocell uPVC products. We are a very proud Eurocell manufacturer, and to this day, we have a great relationship with them, and their

company motto ‘All together better’ is 100% true.

“Supplier relationships have been key to the business’ success over the years, which is why when we chose to branch out into aluminium, it was important to choose the correct partnerships and systems company for our offering.

“We had dipped our toe

into aluminium in 2018 by manufacturing bi-folds, but we have now recently invested in a new factory unit, a separate production line, additional staff, as well as new stateof-the-art machinery in order to successfully deliver a new aluminium offering from both Garnalex and Cortizo.

“The great innovation from these product ranges, the investment and proven success of the people have all been driving forces behind our decision, and with fabricator and installer friendly designs, they are a perfect fit for us.”

Greg continues: “To mark 25 years in the industry is a huge achievement, and what better way to celebrate than by branching out and expanding what we can offer our valued customers. I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to all our customers over the past 25 years, our fantastic staff, some of whom have been with us from day one, and our supplier network who continually help us to strive for a very high standard. Here’s to the next 25 years of success!” www.warwicknorthwest.co.uk

Mike Parczuk

We’re the home of Sheerline

Make Part L compliance a cinch with u-values as low as 1.0W/m2K!

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Rehau’s Rio Flush Fit Range Influences Father And Son To Return To Fabrication

regarding manufacturing of the Rio Flush Fit window, but the choice to partner with Rehau enabled them to offer a highquality timber alternative product into the market, with an ‘A’ Window Energy Rating (WER), assisted by its compatibility with the polymer provider’s Total70 system. Steven and Matthew were also able to save the expense of PAS24 testing, as this accreditation had already been achieved in the range’s hardware design.

New fabrication company Visio has been able to fast-track the business’s launch due to the introduction of Rehau’s Rio flush fit range.

The Uxbridge-based business which is headed by father and son team, Steven and Matthew Rule, and founded in 2022. With average housing

prices in the West London town exceeding £600,000, the company delivers to a high-end market and needed a premium supplier to match. Steven, who had previously worked with the Rehau profile 20 years ago, wanted to return to a system he trusted and knew well.

Visio contacted Rehau in March

Steven Rule, director at Visio, comments on the launch of the products: “I’d heard about the Rio Flush fit window boasting some really interesting mechanics. With that in mind, I came back into fabrication following retirement to help my son start off the production of this new window.”

The Rio Flush fit frame has two mechanical joint options, which, with wood-effect foils and graining, can provide the kerb appeal of traditional timber windows, with the performance

qualities of uPVC.

Matthew Rule, director at Visio, adds: “We’ve been waiting for something exciting to happen in the market and when we saw the Rio Flush fit window, we knew that this was it. There aren’t many organisations in the country offering mechanical joints, let alone the double mechanical joints we can offer, so it really does pave the way in the market. Working with Rehau has really streamlined our operation as they offer great technical support, providing instant backup when and if we need them.”

It’s refreshing to see the introduction of a product like this to the market and we’ve found that once, one project is out the door, we are getting two more coming in – we can’t produce them fast enough”.

Luke Boban, area sales manager at Rehau, comments: “Steven is a familiar face at Rehau from his work with us 20 years ago. It’s been a real pleasure to help him set up this new business with his son. Being able to onboard them with the holistic Rio Flush fit range has been seamless and it’s positive to see our product launch help them grow quickly.”

With the introduction the Rio Flush Fit French door in the summer of 2022, Steven and Matthew are now going to manufacturer this product, which will really increase their already strong presence in the market. The Flush Fit French doors are available in a range of foil laminates allowing for a complete personalised profile design. This ability to provide a range of aesthetics with added durability was a key part of the range’s appeal for Visio”.

To find out more about the partnership click here, and for more information on Rehau’s Rio Flush fit range, click here.

Glamorous Glamping From Force 8

exact requirements of the Pod design. Every arch and curve are engineered from a single length of profile, with no breaks or welds, giving a more aesthetic appeal as well as a structurally stronger frame. As far as the company is aware this single length process is still unique to Force 8, the normal process is to bend shorter lengths and then weld them together.

Over the past few years there has been considerable growth in the British holiday market, one of the many areas which has seen expansion is Glamping, with an explosion of new sites that have opened around the UK to meet the demand of the staycation. Glamping Pods, which are factory built and delivered to site have become extremely popular with their distinctive curved design, which seems to have become the standard framework for the industry.

There are many companies that can provide windows and doors for these types of structures, but very few like Force 8 who can provide unique systems to fit the distinctive curved designs. Being able to glaze the full area and follow the curve allows more light and better views, as well as a better connection with the great outdoors.

Force 8 have been involved in profile bending for over 30 years and have perfected their system to an artform. Each frame or set of frames is custom made to the

When you are constructing on what is basically a production line, the need for a reliable supplier to keep the production flowing is essential. Force 8 have invested constantly in the latest computer-controlled CNC cutting machines and equipment to stay ahead of the game. They can produce multiple units of unusual, curved designs to a millimetre perfect finish, which is ideal for this form of construction. The last thing a manufacturer wants is for his production line to be slowed down because of ill-fitting products.

All the doors and windows all come with the latest security fittings and hardware, which has always been a priority for Force 8. The Pod doors are fitted with 2 hooks and deadbolts to make sure when locked they are fully secure, giving the residents peace of mind while on their vacation.

Force 8 have been supplying arched and curved windows to tight deadline throughout the UK for many years and have the delivery infrastructure to cope with this growing demand in the Glamping Pod market. For further details visit www.force8.uk

Pyramid Profiles And Pyramid Aluminium Re-Brand As Pyramid Group

To make life easier for customers buying both aluminium and PVCu, Pyramid Aluminium and Pyramid Profiles have joined their brands together as Pyramid Group

Formed in response to the fast commercial growth of 2022, the re-brand has come off the back of the development and launch of a number of new products over the last 12 months.

“We want to bring together both sides of the business under one name in response to the significant growth in the number of customers buying both PVCu and aluminium from us last year, merging both brands under one name that installers can trust for all their glazing needs,” says Paul Bailey, managing director at Pyramid Group.

“Integrating both customer bases has been a big focus over the past year, and the Pyramid Group brand provides the perfect platform for an exciting year ahead, which includes new literature and product launches.”

The news comes at the same time as the Pyramid Group’s new website is launched, showcasing all the benefits of both their aluminium and PVCu products in one place. pyramid-profiles.co.uk

Aluminium Sections In Seven Days

Fabricators and installers who need aluminium sections in a hurry can have products delivered from Kestrel Aluminium Systems with just a seven-working-day lead time, says the company.

An extensive range of sections are available, with various lengths including half and quarter lengths and up to six options to choose from on many products. This means customers can choose the most economical options for their project. Most sections are stocked in mill finish and as white powder coated, while Kestrel’s in-house powdercoating facility can provide bespoke solutions with a vast range of standard colours.

Kestrel has its own fleet of vehicles and trained drivers ready to distribute and deliver its products throughout mainland UK from its factory

in Birmingham. Instead of imposing a rigid delivery schedule, Kestrel works with its customers to deliver products on time and exactly when they are needed wherever possible, claims the company.

Andrew Cross, marketing manager of Kestrel Aluminium Systems, says: “At Kestrel we understand the stress – financial and otherwise – that comes from missing a client’s deadline. That’s why we keep large stocks of our mill finish and white powder-coated products at our factory in Birmingham, so that we can typically deliver with a seven-working-day lead time.

“We pride ourselves on our customer service, and will always pull out all the stops to provide a fast and reliable service whenever our customers need it.”

Freefoam Builds Significant Momentum On Sustainability

Freefoam has launched a new page on its website to highlight milestones on the company’s journey to building a sustainable future.

The page emphasises Freefoam’s ongoing journey from a linear to a circular economy, showing site users the range and breadth of sustainability projects Freefoam has on the go.

It features initiatives and case studies that centre around the elimination of waste, the reuse and circulation of resources and carbon and energy reduction activities. The case studies detail the different countermeasures implemented to address waste occurring at Freefoam. As Freefoam continue to measure and improve their sustainability performance, more content will be added as

new projects are introduced throughout the year.

Initiatives are as wide ranging as using energy from renewable sources, recover and recycle schemes and introducing a closed loop production process.

One such initiative is the ongoing replacement of all DC motors with AC motors across Freefoam. AC motors use less energy and require less maintenance than the older DC motors. Freefoam’s energy usage will be reduced by 64,774 kilowatt hours per annum as well as reduced energy and maintenance costs In another initiative, Freefoam implemented a redesign and reduction project to remove the protective film on the vented section of general purpose boards, allowing any ‘slugs’ or waste PVC to be diverted from general waste and

reused in the production process. From this scheme, the company will see 13,500kg of PVC foam diverted from general waste a year and carbon emissions reduced by an estimated 25,870kg CO2e per annum, claims the company.

Colin St John, commercial director at Freefoam, says: “As a responsible manufacturer, we are committed to sustainable manufacturing, and it is our responsibility to monitor and reduce our overall impact on the environment. The new page on our website will document our commitment to putting sustainability at the heart of our organisation and through case studies we will demonstrate some of the projects we are undertaking to achieve this goal.”

https://bit.ly/41Y087t

Carl F Groupco Renews Membership Of Council For Aluminium In Building

Carl F Groupco has renewed its membership of Council for Aluminium in Building. John Crittenden, managing director of Carl F Groupco, said: “Membership of trade associations such as CAB demonstrates our commitment to playing a responsible, proactive role in the industry.”

Carl F Groupco has been a member of CAB since 2006 and Phil Slinger, chief executive of CAB, said: “We are delighted that Carl F Groupco has renewed its CAB membership. The company has been one of our longest serving members. We look forward to continuing to work together to maintain high standards and promote quality within the growing aluminium market.”

CAB’s mission is to promote and protect the use of aluminium in the UK commercial and domestic architectural aluminium industry. It is the largest UK aluminium in building trade association with over 140 members across the supply chain, says the company. It provides high quality technical

information and guidance on regulations, standards and best practice. It is also highly proactive in a number of aluminium and sustainability initiatives in the UK and internationally and is involved in developing and delivering a series of key training initiatives.

As well as CAB membership, Carl F Groupco is also a member of the Secured by Design initiative, which works to improve the security of buildings and their surroundings, providing safe places to live, work, shop and visit. Its ISO 9001 accreditation for Quality Management Systems demonstrates its commitment to quality.

Overall, Carl F Groupco’s approach demonstrates its unwavering commitment to upholding its core principles of product quality, first class service and industry knowledge. It’s why it’s one of the industry’s longest-established names.

www.carlfgroupco.co.uk

www.smartsecure.co.uk

www.carlfdirect.co.uk

UAP Underlines Sustainability Commitment With New Campaign

UAP, the specialist in locks and hardware for doors and windows, has launched a new scheme to proactively improve sustainability across the business.

The initiative considers the social, economic and environmental (S.E.E) factors that must be addressed by UAP to drive positive change. Designed to engage employees

at all levels, every department is tasked with developing new ideas and practices that can make a tangible difference.

“Our aim is to go above and beyond what is required by accreditations such as ISO:14001,” explained David Jennings, CEO of UAP. “That’s why, unlike many other sustainability initiatives, our S.E.E. scheme doesn’t just focus on minimising our environmental impact. We also want to identify opportunities for creating social value in our local communities and continue to drive efficiencies to ensure UAP remains a sustainable business.

“This will make sure that we approach sustainability

more holistically and develop commercially viably ideas focused on generating long-term benefits.”

As part of the campaign, sustainability champions have been appointed in each department to raise awareness of the campaign and to inspire others to generate new ideas. This approach has already led to the launch of several environmental initiatives, including a competition that encourages customers to reduce waste and recycle.

Any business that buys Fullex locks in crates or pallets are challenged to upcycle the packaging. A £10 prize is awarded to anyone that enters, while the person with the best upcycling idea wins a £500 voucher for a high street store. To kickstart the initiative, UAP’s marketing director, successfully upcycled pallets into garden storage and planters, and the photos have been used as part of the promotional campaign.

UAP’s warehouse team has also developed a plan that will see bubble wrap replaced with more eco-friendly packaging and ‘waste walks’ implemented to identify areas of improvement.

David continued: “Our sustainability champions are playing a vital role in engaging employees in our S.E.E scheme and enabling every department to bring forward ideas that can make a tangible difference. To make sure these are viable, we set SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic timely) targets and then closely monitor progress, ensuring there is sufficient resources to meet the objectives.

“Initiatives have been generated to help encourage a more sustainable way of thinking outside of the office too. We encourage our people to share

the outcome of these measures with their colleagues to help motivate others to do the same.”

To share best practice, UAP has also asked its sales team to introduce ‘green customers’ to the business with a view to collaborate with them on new sustainability initiatives.

On a wider scale, the S.E.E. scheme is aiming to drive change across UAP’s manufacturing processes. The business is working with its suppliers in China to audit products and factories to stop the use of virgin plastic packaging.

Meanwhile, UAP’s technical services team has launched a longterm project aimed at replacing cold runner tools with hot runner moulds, which are used to produce plastic products and parts. The hot runner version provides a more sustainable solution, producing less waste and using less energy. UAP is working closely with suppliers to assess the full lifecycle costs of hot runner moulds to

develop the most cost-effective options.

Reducing the company’s carbon footprint is another priority for UAP and forms part of the S.E.E. scheme.

“At director level, we are assessing our carbon footprint and putting measures in place to reduce energy use in the UK, China and India,” added David. “We already have solar panels on the factory roof in the UK and are refining policies across the business to help mitigate the impact of climate change. This is another area where we are engaging staff as even small changes can make a difference.

“As a long-term campaign with clear objectives, the S.E.E. scheme is already having an impact on our business, encouraging people at all levels to make positive changes. The ideas that are being developed will deliver consistent improvements and enable UAP to share best practice and knowledge, both internally and externally.”

https://uapcorporate.com/

A Supplier Partnership You Can Stake Your Reputation On

Strata Windows in Stoke-on-Trent are in it for the long haul… long term supplier partnerships, longstanding members of staff and most impressively, a customer base spanning four generations of Staffordshire families, thanks to its ability to move with the times and adapt to changes in the market. So, it comes as no surprise that Strata’s directors, Rob Dale and Ian Hackwood, were quick on the uptake of Comp Door’s new solid timber core composite door, which is currently the only part L compliant door of its kind, claims the company. Strata’s impressive showroom has now become one of Comp Door’s flagship showrooms, complete with fully glazed French doors and hardware display boards.

Rob Dale, gave Window News a deeper insight into the history of Strata and what their future holds with Comp Door…

Rob explains, “Originally established in 1981 by Finley Walker, Strata Windows began by selling imported timber frame and aluminium sliding doors, before moving into the manufacture of high-quality hardwood windows. At a time when the industry was characterized by high-pressure sales techniques, Strata took a different approach and built a reputation on providing information in a relaxed no-pressure setting, which our customers have come to

appreciate.

“Strata relies heavily on word-ofmouth recommendations and has built its reputation over the years on being reliable and offering a quality finish. This has led to unprecedented customer retention, great reviews and the recognition of Which? as a Trusted Trader. In fact, we were the first company of our kind to be given the endorsement in the Staffordshire/ Cheshire region, claims the company.

“The business now occupies 10,000 sqft. premises in Stokeon-Trent and has seven teams of experienced fitters. Our showroom is well known in the local area for the 4 full size conservatory and orangery style buildings we have, complete with all the latest doors

and roofs available. And after experiencing some disruption to the supply of composite entrance doors from our previous supplier, Richard Diliberto’s phone call from Comp Door couldn’t have come at a better time.

“The guys at Comp Door have been a great help in getting us set up. They’re always there to help and have been quick to resolve any issues we’ve had. In fact, our operations director, Paul Wright, who used to be a fitter, has worked alongside Comp Door’s technical director, Pierre Mifsud, to develop Comp Door’s next new product launch, the stable door.

“The Comp Door product not only looks great and is good quality, but it is also very reasonably priced and since launching the Comp Door range in October, sales have been incredible! The new additions to our showroom always catch the eye of visitors. Comp Door has kitted us out with 5 working doors including a fully glazed set of French doors, as well as 6 slabs, a POS board of styles and hardware board showing the Coastal Blu range.

“One feature of a Comp Door solid timber core composite door that our customers have really appreciated, particularly our older clients, is the auto-fire slam shut lock as standard. This has proved a real selling point for homeowners that have struggled to operate doors with single latch and lift levers. Comp Door’s standard automatic multi-point locking system features four self-locking, deadbolt latches that activate when the door is closed and keeps the door latched at all times over the full height of the door, requiring no homeowner intervention as with a single latch and lift lever, thus eliminating the chance of the door not being secured properly, and helps to combat excessive thermal movement that causes warping or bowing associated with some other brands.”

compdoor.co.uk/contact-us

Rob Dale

Sternfenster Hosts Debate On Sustainability

Sternfenster hosted a roundtable in January to discuss the importance of manufacturing windows and doors sustainably, and to share best practice when it comes to measuring and reducing the industry’s impact on the environment.

The aim of the event was to collectively develop strategies that help reduce carbon emissions and increase recycling, while maximising the commercial opportunities from doing so.

Sternfenster invited its key suppliers to explore how each business is taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint, and how this data can be passed through the supply chain to retail companies.

Representatives from Deceuninck, Smart Systems, Saint-Gobain Glass, and Edgetech shared their sustainability journey, and vowed to work together to place greater importance on the environment and communicate this to the end user.

“More of our consumers are asking us for information on how our products are recyclable, and how we’re reducing our carbon footprint,” explained Mike Parczuk, Sternfenster’s managing director. “We had an engaging roundtable debate to discuss this, and how each of us are making our products are as recyclable as possible. I’m pleased to say there were some really positive outcomes.”

Edgetech’s head of marketing Charlotte Hawkes explained how the company was currently benchmarking its impact on the environment, which was being driven by many factors, including from its own investors. But there was also an opportunity from a marketing perspective.

“With sustainability, we’ve got an awful lot to contribute, and by embracing it as an opportunity rather than pushing against it, we can really do the industry a favour by improving the reputation,” she said.

This communication hurdle was also highlighted by SaintGobain Glass’s regional sales manager Richard Green.

“I think one of the biggest challenges within the glass industry is educating and enabling our customers to be able to talk about the benefits and the appropriate energy efficient options,” he said.

And this approach requires the industry to present facts and figures in an informative manner, argued Deceuninck’s operations director Darren Woodcock.

“The biggest challenge is educating people, without a shadow of a doubt,” he said. “If you’re replacing your windows, you need to be sustainably thinking what’s happening with your old windows. Are they going to go back into the system? Are they going to be in the supply chain again? Is that circular economy known to the end user?”

Smart Systems’ technical manager Anthony Murray said the hardest thing for companies developing a sustainability strategy is obtaining data, and gathering the key performance indicators, such as energy use, water consumption, and reliance

on chemicals.

“But I’d also say the data is the opportunity,” he said. “Because if you analyse the data instead of just collecting the data, it shows you where you can improve your business to improve your efficiencies.”

Having this well-informed view of your business, created thanks to your sustainability initiative, will bring many commercial benefits, Saint-Gobain Glass’s marketing manager Jennifer Young believed.

“I think our biggest opportunity is to really look at how we do things – from the manufacturing process, to product innovation, and how that product performs,” she said.

“And, ultimately, I think we’ve got a real opportunity here to make

the world a better home for all of us.”

Nathan Court, Sternfenster’s sales director, said: “The roundtable event was a great success, and is just another step in our sustainability journey. I am encouraged where Sternfenster currently sits and I urge suppliers to start working more closely with each other and their supply chains to forge a more joined-up approach to sustainability.

“There’s some great information that we’re all going to share with our trade customers over the coming weeks and months. That way, they can confidently inform the end user about how sustainable our products are, and to improve the sustainability journey that we’re all on.”

John Mitchell Technical Manager Carl F Groupco

Amanda Hale Roundbrand

Carl F Groupco’s

hardware

support throughout PAS 24 testing has been invaluable…”

Rise Of The Passive House

We are seeing, on a more regular basis, buildings being constructed to meet ‘Passivhaus’ design, but what is it and how does it affect the new build and home improvement markets? Whilst it may be considered by some that this is just a concept for expensive new build, this couldn’t be further from the truth. The principles of the voluntary ‘Passive House’ designs are equally relevant to commercial construction and property refurbishment. Many architectural practices now have dedicated architects who are trained in the design philosophy by the UK’s Passivhaus Trust.

So what is Passivhaus and importantly, how is it going to affect our fenestration industry?

A staggering 35% of our total global energy consumption is used

in buildings, significantly cutting this will drastically reduce our carbon emissions. A Passivhaus certified building is optimised for a decarbonised grid and offers living and working spaces for health and wellbeing. This high level of occupant comfort uses very little energy for heating and cooling. Insulation plays a major role but this is only one of the five principles of Passivhaus design.

Whilst ‘Passivhaus’ is commonly considered as a German innovation, in fact, it was an American physicist, William Shurcliff who in 1982 published a book “The Saunders-Shrewsbury House,” in which he describes the concepts of “super-insulation” and passive solar as “passive house.” In the late 1980s a passive house movement had emerged in

North America, but, shortly after America lost its appetite for energy conservation, Germany picked up the reins. A German physicist Wolfgang Feist refined the passive house concept to further improve efficiency and proposed a passive house concept with an annual energy demand of just fifteen kilowatt-hours per square metre of floor area.

Window insulation and airtightness is a major requirement in Passivhaus design needing a minimum of requirement of triple glazing for doors, windows and curtain wall. Aluminium, you may be surprised to know can perform exceptionally well at high insulation

Phil Slinger

levels using wide thermal breaks, inserted insulation and wide window seals. Some aluminium window systems can get down to a Uw of 0.55 W/(m2K) and door systems down to a Uw of 0.65 W/(m2K). Whilst these high performance systems come at a premium, the principles of design are now well known and aluminium plus polyamide thermal breaks are relatively quick to design and cost effective to produce, unlike window systems in alternative materials. With today’s advanced powder coatings these systems can perform well over several decades.

Passivhaus principles and lowcarbon construction take a ‘fabric first’ approach; basically there is no point in using alternative heating systems until the whole building fabric is designed for minimal heat losses. There are five principles that need to be introduced into the building before minimal heat sources can be considered. We must also remember that at certain times of the year, even in the UK, we also need to ensure we can keep the heat out in the extremes of weather.

Air tightness to reduce draughts

through building structure interfaces and fenestration helps isolate the living/working space from the exterior. Good quality and effective insulation of walls, ceilings and floors, will also ensure that the interior space remains isolated in extremes of temperature. Often between building interfaces, thermal bridging can occur where insulation areas are interrupted, these areas need very careful design. Designs of window reveals is particularly relevant here, including the window cill and head to ensure that the window frames high thermal perimeter performance is not reduced by poor installation and reveal design. Then to the window systems themselves, high thermal performance systems that are located to take advantage of solar gain but not to extremes.

Once we have the building airtight and thermally efficient, air changes are crucial and these can be achieved by using MVHR (Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery) which provides fresh filtered air into a building whilst retaining most of the heating energy that has already been used in the building. These systems currently can be up to 85%

efficient.

So for new build and home improvement, where does that place our current supply chain for homeowners?

As we rapidly move towards Passivhaus, or very low energy homes, window installers will need to consider window reveal designs to ensure ‘cold bridging’ does not occur, whilst also maintaining the thermal performance of the window frame. This will increase costs of installations as changes to the reveals may be necessary. The opportunity for the home improvement supply chain is quite considerable when you consider the opportunities of upgrading the building insulation and installing MVHR systems alongside replacement doors and windows.

The landscape is changing rapidly and there are opportunities for businesses to range build and meet the market demand for the new era ahead. Here at CAB we will be keeping our membership informed of developments and pending changes in legislation.

To enquire about joining the Association visit: c-a-b.org.uk

Backing The Future

It’s a failure to invest that will cause you serious problems, not market pressures, argues Cornwall Group’s chairman Mark Mitchell.

Current market conditions are creating a real headache for business owners, who are seeing costs increase as demand starts to stagnate, Cornwall Group’s chair Mark Mitchell believes.

“We are feeling all the pain of a recession, even if it isn’t labelled a recession,” Mark says. “I am very concerned and anxious about 2023, especially the start of Q2 where we have five specific concerns: the energy price cap mechanism unravelling; minimum wage pressures; a 20% increase in industrial business rates; rising interest rates; and corporation tax going back to 25%.

“Just one of those on its own would be a challenge, but together they could cause considerable distress for some companies.”

Cornwall Group was formed in 2019 when Cornwall Glass was split into three business units: retail-focused Cornwall Glass & Glazing, Cornwall Manufacturing and merchanting business Mackenzie Glass. Since then, the group successfully weathered the pandemic and grew as increased demand followed.

“We have come out of two very successful, strong, trading years which has given us much-needed reserves,” Mark says. “Every penny that we made in profit over the last three years has gone back into the business.”

This, Mark says, is vital for not only business survival, but also for prosperity.

“In recent years, the Cornwall Group has streamlined its shareholding structure, which has made us quite nimble,” he says. “We don’t have too many paymasters. We don’t have to answer to private investors. And we don’t have a load of shareholders who are expecting a dividend. Every penny of profit has gone back into the business and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.”

Despite the pressures outlined by Mark, this approach to investment and growth is key to building and maintaining its customer base.

“Where some of our competitors may struggle,

we are looking to grow, both organically and through acquisition. So, it’s important that we make a profit, because that profit will go back into the business through plant and machinery, through our colleagues, through training initiatives, and through investment in IT.”

Cornwall Group’s St Austell site has got a £4m investment programme lined up for the next three years, with a specific focus on upgrading the existing machinery. Top of that list is a £1.5m Bystronic Sealed Unit Line, which was ordered at the start of 2023, and is due to be delivered by the end of Q3 this year to replace an existing line.

“I remember very fondly buying our first piece of equipment – a Bystronic Sealed Unit Line – 20 years ago for £half-a-million,” Mark says. “And it’s a credit to our operators and our engineers that we’ve maintained that equipment, and similar equipment of a similar age.

“But it is vital that St Austell and the other larger sites that are reliant on automation, plants and machinery are updated on a regular basis.

“It is essential that we continue to invest in new technology, new robotic sealed unit lines, and furnaces that are more environmentally friendly. We have to plan ahead because the order you place may not be commissioned for 12 months – so you cannot afford to leave it until the last minute.

“By continuing to plough our profits back into the business, we can continue to give our customers good quality products backed by good service. That means looking beyond the current gloomy forecast, and always with an eye on the five-year horizon.”

www.cornwallglass.co.uk

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The Business Pilot Barometer

New build on the precipice?

By Neil Cooper-Smith, Senior Analyst, Business Pilot

To put things into context for a moment.

incomes.

Mortgage approvals in January were also at their lowest level for more than two years, falling to 36,600.

According to lender Nationwide, this contributed to a 0.5% fall in house prices in February compared to January - the sixth month in a row that house prices have fallen.

At £257,406 it said that average house prices are now 1.1% lower than where they were a year ago, representing the biggest annual decline since the end of 2012.

At the start of this month [March] £1bn was knocked off the share price of the UK’s quoted housebuilders in a single morning [1/3/23].

It followed Persimmon’s warning that demand for new homes was softening, amid continuing economic uncertainty and pressure on household

Persimmon’s downbeat analysis of the prospects for new build shouldn’t be ignored. It should, however, also be seen in the context of house builders’ frustration at the closing of the Help to Buy scheme, something which it is lobbying

The Business Pilot Barometer offers a monthly analysis of the key trends defining window and door retail. It draws on real industry data collated by Business Pilot, the cloud-based business management tool.To find out more see www.businesspilot.co.uk/barometer

Government to reinstate or replace.

Nonetheless, the same uncertainties – pressure on household incomes and inflation – are also, in the longer term likely to impact the replacement market.

So far, however, there is little sign of a retail slowdown.

Sales were up 16% in February on January. Leads were marginally down (5%) but this was offset by a 5% increase in average order values.

Year-one-year sales were up 16% in February this year compared to February 2022, a period still in the long tail of the Covid boom in home improvements. Sales were up 6%.

Average order values were down 54% year-onyear, however, February 2022 was something of an anomaly, with recording unusually high demand for and sales of glazed extensions, artificially inflating average order values.

been less cyclonic and more gentle buffeting. Where we go next will be in part dependent on where energy prices and interest rates go over the next 12-months.

Energy prices remain at record highs. The energy price cap was cut by Ofgem last month from £4,279 to £3,280 based on a fall in wholesale energy prices. However, in reality homeowners will see a rise of around £500 from April because Government support under the Energy Price Guarantee is becoming less generous.

Meanwhile, Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England has warned that in the face of still stubbornly high rates of the monetary policy committee could not rule out further interest rate rises when it meets on 23rd of this month [March].

So, in short, people are still spending. We’ve attributed this previously to continuing high energy prices and the drive to insulate. Lower levels of movement in the housing market, have also historically increased activity in the home improvement sector.

It is difficult to see how the retail sector can completely avoid the headwinds impacting new build but it appears that so far least, these have

Energy prices in our view will continue to be a major driver of window and door sales this year. Pressure on household incomes may become a barrier to purchase, making availability of finance key in maximising opportunities.

Cost control and effective management of your retail also become key in this context. We make it easy to understand your overheads and operating costs, as well as your profitability - that’s down to profitability on individual products, which supports you in making smart choices about where to go next.

High Stakes In The Energy Markets

An open letter by Ryan Johnson, Group Managing Director, Emplas

Energy has not been out of the news in the last year – and it’s not going to be.

Last month [Feb] British Gas owner Centrica announced profits of more than £3.3bn boosted by soaring wholesale gas prices, the product of underlying instability in the energy market – and that isn’t going to go away anytime soon.

Wholesale energy prices have been rising since the second half of 2021. This contributed to the 54% increase in the Energy Price Cap in April 2022,

and what would have been an 80% increase in October, which would have added £1,600 to the ‘average’ household bill.

The Energy Guarantee may have bailed UK householders out in the short-term and avoided the 80% cliff edge, but it’s scheduled to run out in only a years’ time at the end of March 2024.

The current £2,500 ceiling also comes to an end from the start of April this year, with a switch to a higher rate of £3,000 for most householders.

This means that at best, we have one year to go, before the Energy Price Guarantee

runs its course and subsidies are withdrawn, at a time when the Government is gambling wholesale energy prices will be lower, and bills will be more affordable.

This is an even bigger gamble for homeowners. What if energy prices don’t drop? In 12-months’ time they’ll face still painfully high energy bills. A further government subsidy is unlikely for all but the most vulnerable households on the basis that it costs too much.

As a homeowner that gives you 12-months to ‘put your house in order’ – literally – and to improve its thermal performance or face higher bills.

This means positioning around the contribution that new windows and doors can make to home energy efficiency is going to continue to resonate for the entirety of this year and well into 2024.

This in my view has been supporting the still solid levels of demand that the window and door industry has seen in the first quarter of this year.

Despite the lacklustre performance of the UK economy there hasn’t been a major drop in demand, the market tracking at not dissimilar levels of demand to levels which we saw at the same time last year.

The Government’s commitments to tackle climate change and lower carbon emissions from UK homes, are also driving a raft of new regulatory requirements and further revisions of Part L under the Future Homes Standard.

The opportunities are there for the taking if we engage the end user today, and work effectively with government to secure new opportunities tomorrow. We should be confident.

www.emplas.co.uk

The AluK 77 window and door range re-engineered for future sustainability.

With the need for more energy efficiency from homes and buildings, here at AluK, we wanted to make sure we were playing our part. Especially when our products are key to letting natural light in, whilst keeping the elements out.

The 77 Range is our most high performing window and door range yet, outperforming the current A++ WER. And just as you’d expect from AluK, there’s no compromise when it comes to aesthetic design too.

The 77 window and door range from AluK, re-engineered for future sustainability.

Meet the standards you expect yourself

Managing director of Walsallbased Rapid Frame Martin Corcoran says choosing your suppliers carefully will help you meet market demands.

Established in 1998, Rapid Frame began life supplying trade customers nationwide with market-leading products, but quickly developed a retail arm which brought significant benefits across the board, according to owner and managing director of Rapid Frame Martin Corcoran. “We noticed a lot of people sold on profile brands back in 2002,” Martin said. “So, we decided to offer something new and different by setting up the Formula One Range in 2003 and

registering it as a trademark.”

Originally pushed out to trade customers, Rapid Frame opened its first retail outlet in Telford 2009, and a second one more recently in Cheslyn Hay, Walsall, in 2022.

“Our aim is to operate from five retail sites altogether,” Martin said. “And far from conflicting with them, our trade customers are directly benefiting from the investment we are putting into our retail operations.”

Unique offering Martin’s view of a window is that its ‘value’ can be split 50/50 between the components on one

hand, and the brand on the other . “While the Formula One range was designed originally for our trade customers to sell something different and unique to their customers, we’ve leveraged that same brand for homeowners in the regions we operate in,” he said.

“Our trade customers don’t conflict with other Formula One retailers in their area – we control the brand very carefully in that sense.

“The whole idea of our retail operation was to create margin that could be put back into marketing and infrastructure. So, this wasn’t being charged through the frames that we sell – it was actually being selfgenerated by our own retail market to push the brand out as a national brand.

“We also come away from this exercise with additional retail knowledge that we can share with our trade customers.”

Underpinning this successful national brand is aluplast, which has supplied Rapid Frame since 2005. This makes the Walsall-

based fabricator one of the longest established aluplast fabricators in the UK.

“aluplast are very good at supplying us,” Martin said. “And we need that consistency. We don’t like disappointing customers, which can lead to unnecessary conflict –something that is best avoided if you want a successful partnership.

“Thankfully, aluplast deliver us the product when we need it, especially the foiled products – the quality is very good with those.

“Colour has been interesting for the last 20 years probably. Originally it was Golden Oak and Rosewood and Whites, and then colour became a massive mover generally. We’re aiming for 40% in colours in the next year, which will probably increase to 60% over the course of the next three to five years.

Flush push

“We’ve also noticed the massive influx in the flush sash, even in the newbuild market,” Martin continued. “So, we’re now

manufacturing flush windows for our trade and retail customers.”

With a range of 40 different finishes, including the next generation woodec and aludec foils, aluplast has invested significantly in its foil offer. This has allowed it to maintain a strong supply of its most popular stock colours.

Thanks to a flush casement window, which suites with both the Ideal 70 and Ideal 4000 systems, and a dedicated flush door, which is available as a French door, or as a single outward-opening door, customers can now offer a uniform flush appearance in both the heritage and contemporary sectors by providing a uniform flush appearance across both windows and doors.

“The Formula One Range will remain the same as a brand, but the technology behind it is constantly being updated,” Martin said. “The same goes for the security, as does the appearance, and our customers directly benefit from the fact that all aluplast’s flush products are PAS24 accredited, and meet all the standards for weather tightness.”

Rapid Frame’s 12,000ft2 site is regularly being updated with new machinery, with recent investments including a five-head welder from Haffner, a three-axis machining centre from FOM, and two CNC cutting stations from Pertici.

The company has also added two new Mercedes 7.5-tonne trucks to the three it already owns to continue to meet its promise of ‘timed slot deliveries’.

Despite the improved levels of automation, Martin said there is no substitute to employing the right people with the right skills.

“The key to any successful business is looking after your people,” he said. “And our philosophy has always been it’s a business about people – we employ a lot of families, and we pay a lot of mortgages.

“It’s our intention to continue that while making the products the standards that we would expect, and therefore our customers expect.”

www.formulaonerange.co.uk

www.aluplast.co.uk

Martin Corcoran

Jon Tudor Heads Up Commercial Operation In The North

Emplas has appointed Jon Tudor to head up its newly dedicated commercial operation in the North of England.

Jon steps into the new commercial manager North position having joined the window and door fabricator from Newlook Windows, where he was latterly commercial director.

Jon started with Newlook in 2006 as a service engineer, moving into installations, aftercare and contracts management roles.

Prior to this he worked in manufacturing roles with Per-Fit Windows from 2001 to 2006, giving him direct experience in manufacturing, installation and contracts management.

“Coming to the role from the background that I have is a definite advantage” Jon

explained. “I’ve worked with a number of different housebuilders but also have worked on site, in trouble shooting as a service engineer, to contracts management roles.

“I understand what housebuilders need from supply partners but also have an understanding of the things that make projects run effectively on site.”

Ryan Johnson, managing director of Emplas Group said that Jon’s appointment was key foundation for its new dedicated commercial operation for the North of England.

He said: “We have a growing presence in North England and so have taken the decision to replicate the model that we already have in place for the South and appoint dedicated resource to it.

“Jon has an exceptional understanding of the new build sector, literally from the groundup and that means that he speaks the same language and fully understands the challenges and opportunities that exist for housebuilders.”

A keen golfer outside of work Jon enjoys relaxing with his family and walks in the country. He’s also a keen fan of one of his two hometown Premiership clubs, Manchester United.

Jon added: “We have a very exciting product range and the infrastructure and experience to deliver it on time, just in time and in full to site.

“Housebuilders want to work with commercial partners who they know understand them, and who will work with them to get the job done, whatever it takes. It’s about trust and confidence in the supply chain.

“We have the product range and the expertise to deliver.” www.emplas.co.uk

New Commercial Manager Appointed At Euramax

UPVC window and door manufacturer Euramax Solutions has strengthened its team by appointing a new Commercial Manager.

Katrina Chalupka started the role at the beginning of December and her focus will be to support and develop existing and new business growth, within the Leisure and Modular market sectors.

Katrina has held various sales and business development roles over the past nine years within the healthcare, telecommunications and construction industries. She said: “It’s fantastic to join Euramax Solutions and a company that is

continually growing year on year. Euramax has ambitious plans for 2023 and beyond and I’m excited and looking forward to being a part of that.”

“At a time when hundreds of thousands of new houses must be built in the UK, modular is going to play a big part as traditional construction methods become more and more expensive. With our experience in the modular market and our ability to meet modular companies in both product and production lineside delivery, we feel Euramax is well placed to take advantage of that.”

www.euramaxuk.com

Kall Kwik

Appoint New Technical Director

Kall Kwik has strengthened its management team with the addition of new technical director, Josh Goodwin.

The appointment will allow Kall Kwik’s previous technical director, Danny Jones, to take on the role of operations and commercial director, remaining actively involved in Kall Kwik’s day-to-day engineering work.

Josh started out his career more than a decade ago at Danny’s former company, DJ Engineering as an apprentice. He quickly went on to make a name for himself in the industry and later established his own company, J Goodwin Engineering, specialising in reactive breakdown cover for uPVC machinery.

“We’re thrilled to have Josh join us on the team,” said Danny Jones. “He’s a fantastic engineer who’s gone from strength to strength in his career. Ever since starting with myself at DJ Machinery all those years ago, he’s developed a reputation for high-quality work and a passion for engineering that gels with us perfectly at Kall Kwik, and I’m excited to see what the future holds.”

kallkwik.uk.com

Experienced New Addition Strengthens Edgetech’s Marketing Team

Spacer bar specialist Edgetech, a Quanex company, welcomes a new member of its marketing team.

Dhilip Bains joins the company’s growing marketing department in the role of marketing executive.

After studying Economics and History, Dhilip achieved an MBA from Cardiff University. He then joined a successful full-service marketing agency, working with major national and international brands.

At Edgetech, Dhilip will help co-ordinate its marketing teams across Britain and Germany, and work on its PR, social media and digital marketing.

Charlotte Hawkes, Edgetech’s head of marketing comments: “We’re extremely pleased to be welcoming Dhilip to the team.

“His experience, professionalism and enthusiasm have already had an impact, and I’m looking

forward to working with him in the year ahead.

“Marketing has always been a vital part of Edgetech’s overall strategy. For us, it’s not just about promoting our own products, but a way of contributing to crucial industry conversations around sustainability, skills, automation, changing government legislation, and the future of the sector in general.

“That’s why it’s so important that we continue to attract talented, passionate people like Dhilip, who can help us maintain those standards for many years to come.”

Dhilip comments: “Edgetech is a globally respected brand, and it’s hugely exciting to be able to help it continue to thrive and grow.

“The Edgetech team has been extremely welcoming, and it’s a great place to work.”

www.edgetechig.co.uk

Universal Arches Appoints New Managing Director

St Helens based Universal Arches Limited, part of the Kaliber Group, has appointed Phil Warren as managing director.

Phil has 30 years of direct industry experience supplying developers, builders, trade manufacturers and retail installers. He has a deep understanding of the needs of B2B customers and is well-versed in the latest industry trends and technologies. Phil is a long-term

business builder and proven team player, says the company.

Since 2020, Phil has been leading another Kaliber business KAT UK, as managing director. KAT is a trade manufacturer of Veka Halo PVCu and Aluminium Windows, Doors, Sliders and Bifolds, based in Macclesfield. The company says, Phil has overseen KAT’s rapid growth and increased profitability through good

director.

communication, employee buy-in and customer loyalty.

Phil’s appointment to this supplementary position in the group is a testament to the organisations’ ongoing commitment to growth and excellence. Phil’s knowledge and experience will be invaluable in ensuring customers receive the highest quality products and service.

Kaliber group chairman, David Richards states “Phil was the obvious candidate for the role of managing director at Universal Arches. He is a true people person who leads from the front, is highly organized, and consistently works to provide customers with what they need. Phil will optimise returns on recent investment in Universal Arches by improving overall quality and producing exciting new products. Under Phil’s leadership, Universal Arches and KAT UK will continue to thrive and will benefit from the obvious synergies between the two businesses. Phil and his team are helping to shape a successful future for our customers and our group.”

www.universalarches.com

Dean joined Glazpart in 2012 as sales and marketing manager and has been instrumental in developing the business over the last decade, with ‘continuous unprecedented sales growth’.

In addition to growing sales, Dean has worked closely with Glazpart’s technical and design team implementing a strong product development strategy that has introduced many new products to the glass, glazing, construction, industrial and automotive sectors.

Glazpart has announced that Dean Bradley has joined the board of Glazpart group of companies as sales

On his appointment, Dean commented, “Being part of Glazpart’s successful journey for over ten years has been a joy. With continuous investment in innovation and state-of-the-art machinery to meet the increasing demand for our products, it’s an exciting time for Glazpart. I look forward to being part of a strong and talented board, to help steer the company to even greater success in the future.” www.glazpart.co.uk

Dean Bradley Joins Glazpart Board

New Apointment Promises Exciting Times At Whitesales

campaigns, so the market can expect to see Whitesales making a big impression this year – online, in print and face to face at events including the 2023 FIT Show.

Alex is also a fully trained journalist and is promising customers lots of useful new content and new communications tools to help them get to know Whitesales better and access more of the support services available.

She said: “I love all aspects of construction marketing, but my favourite thing is getting to know customers and helping them make the most of the products and services on offer. All the feedback at Whitesales is that existing customers already love what we provide here – my role will be to shout about that a lot more, especially the new product developments which are on their way – and help us win new business from buyers who don’t already know how good we are.

Rooflight manufacturer Whitesales incorporating Lareine, has appointed a new marketing communications manager to help boost the company’s profile in 2023

Alex Gallop is highly experienced in construction marketing, having worked previously at both aluminium systems company AluK and ventilation specialists Nuaire. Her specialisms are branding and

“I’ve had a really warm welcome from the supportive and friendly Whitesales team and it’s especially good to be working with marketing director Sioned Roberts again.”

www.whitesales.co.uk

New Face In The AluK Sales Team

Mike Golden has joined AluK’s sales team, looking after fabricators and installers in London and the Southeast.

Like AluK’s sales director Wayne Heath, Mike Golden has previously worked at webuyanycar.com, so brings with him similar experience in retail sales, customer service and digital sales strategies, which he’s looking forward to sharing with customers.

He said: “The AluK products and brand are fantastically exciting and even in my first few weeks, I can see just how much customers

value the brand and the quality we offer. I’ll be looking to build on the partnerships that AluK already has with customers and hopefully add even more value by helping them target new business and access

more of the package of support we offer.”

Wayne Heath added: “It’s great to welcome Mike to the team as we strengthen our presence in London and the South. His retail experience will be really useful to many of our customers, especially his understanding of the latest digital sales and marketing tools.”

Mike is the third new recruit to the AluK sales team, joining Ron Robertson and Louisa Cairns who have joined in recent months.

https://uk.aluk.com/

Work Smarter, Not Harder

Rhonda Ridge of Ab Initio’s AdminBase, the tried, tested and trusted installer management system, talks about the very real problem of overworking and explains why the solution is easier than we might think.

It was Allen Morgenstern that first coined the idea of working smarter, not harder in the 1930s. It was after the industrial revolution and in his field of industrial engineering he was looking for a way to maintain

productivity while treating workers fairly. While industry has come a long way since then, businesses should still always have an eye on improving systems to boost productivity, while making employees lives better.

A widespread problem that needs to be addressed in today’s workplace is overworking. It happens for lots of different reasons, including individuals not wanting to ask for help, and

employers being unaware of how much some team members are taking on and the detrimental effect it is having on them. In a BBC report published last year, research from institutions such as the World Health Organisation and the International Labour Organisation, showed that people working more than 54 hours a week are at major risk of dying from overwork. The research suggested the problem was killing three-quarters of a million people each year. Overworking isn’t useful to anyone because it can’t last forever. And ill health is bad for employees and employers alike.

Overcoming the reverence towards overworking

We need to address the wider culture where overwork is

acceptable and even revered. This is a huge undertaking, but individual businesses can make a difference by addressing inhouse. Keeping a closer eye on how work is shared out among employees is a good place to start. You will always find there are some people that take on more and more work without complaining, even when they are struggling, while others sit back and try to get away with doing as little as possible. This shouldn’t be deemed acceptable and while managers don’t want to micromanage entire teams, there are systems available that will monitor workloads for you.

CRM software systems, such as AdminBase which was designed specifically for installation businesses, are a great way to

monitor the spread of work on any given project. For example, in AdminBase fitters’ hours can be tracked so that if one team is really busy and another has hours to spare, work can be reassigned for better balance. This information can be gleaned from easy to use reports at the tap of a button 24/7. Which means busy managers can just check in on projects at a time that suits them.

Job boards both physical and digital have always been a good way of tracking work across the lifetime of a project. The AdminBase system includes its own digital Taskboard facility so that installation businesses can monitor the detail behind the projects. It highlights bottlenecks where people may be overworked, and any areas deemed to still have capacity. The system also ensures there is visibility and accountability across the business so that no individual takes on more than they can handle, and no one gets away with hiding in the shadows and not pulling their weight. In short, it improves teamwork.

As someone who used to work in an installation business myself, I appreciate how daunting introducing new software might be, but once installed, AdminBase is so intuitive and easy to use, the whole team can start interacting with it straight away. And managers don’t need to be sat monitoring a screen all day, they can run reports for the information they need quickly and easily. It becomes a similar process to checking e-mails. And in a similar way to e-mails, notifications can be set up as needed.

Avoiding overworking is a critical part of any business today, for the benefit of employees primarily, but also for the benefit of employers. A business can’t thrive if work is not fairly distributed because it affects motivation levels as well as physical and mental health. AdminBase offers a fantastic solution with an easy-to-use system to monitor workloads across the business simply and effectively.

Check in on the business like you check in on e-mails

Rhonda Ridge

Shelforce Invests In New Software System To Increase Efficiency

Window and door manufacturer Shelforce has invested in a new software system from First Degree Systems.

The company, which specialises in providing PVCu and aluminium products, including fire doors, to local authority building projects has made the move due to continued success and rising demand.

Its fully compliant Fireshel 30-minure fire, smoke and security resistant door, which Shelforce launched in 2020, has proved so popular that the

Erdington-based company now manufacturers 200 doors a week.

Shelforce’s business manager Howard Trotter said: “Upgrading our software system to a cloud based one is crucial moving forward due to demand and our business success. As we have grown we have had more orders to process and deliveries to send out and we need that information available at the push of a button.

“The new system will improve our processing power, bring us

greater procurement control, and make things more efficient in terms of quoting, customer orders, ordering raw materials, production control and confirming work and converting it into orders.

“It will also incorporate and help organise weekly product and delivery schedules and it will be great to have everything in one system and under one umbrella.”

Shelforce is also looking at putting a new phone system in place that will be production friendly for staff on the shop floor, and Howard added: “It’s all about increasing efficiency and our business growth has enabled us to invest in these new software systems. Things will take minutes rather than a day, which will help our customer service as demand increases.”

www.shelforce.com

More Support For Installers From AluK

There’s more support on offer from AluK for installers of its window, door and façade systems, with the launch of a dedicated online portal which allows them to access and download everything from product datasheets to sales brochures direct from the AluK website.

Installers just have to register their details at www.alukgb.com/portal/ home, confirm which fabricator they are buying from, and then they can set up their own password protected account.

The downloadable options are tailored specifically to the

needs of installers so there are datasheets, wallcharts, product cards and brochures available, rather than the technical files and CAD details which are within the separate AluK fabricator and specifier portals.

Antoniya Stoycheva, AluK’s digital marketing and communications manager explained the benefits: “This is a quick and easy 24/7 way for Installers to get the info they need on any of our products –and it also includes access to our Part L portal which includes our valuable ‘Installers’ Guide to Part L’.

“It’s not intended to replace what they already get from their fabricators, or the sales and technical advice that AluK provides– but it is a useful addition to our package of support and is another example of our commitment to strengthening our partnerships with our installers.”

www.aluk.co.uk

Join the Business Pilot community

Managing Director of Business

Pilot Elton Boocock explains why the FIT Show is an extension of the community the company is building in the window and door industry.

Since we launched in 2019, building a community of users and partners was just as important for us as developing the Business Pilot software.

Here are four reasons why building a community has helped develop Business Pilot and resulted

in valuable tools for window companies across the UK.

1 FIT Show born and bred

We launched at FIT Show 2019, and we’ve been swept along on a wave of positivity ever since.

This year will be no different. We’ve got new developments to demonstrate to existing users as well as new ones, such as a new function that allows managers of multi-site businesses and multicompany groups to have access

to the operations of all sites, or just a specific one – depending on the permissions given.

Thanks to software updates such as this, last year we had double the number of leads we had in 2019, and we are looking to build on that again in 2023.

2 A software community

Many software platforms are walled gardens where developers want to keep their codes a secret.

Not at Business Pilot! We believe that the more we can integrate Business Pilot into the working life of our users, the more useful it will be. So, we’ve created a number of APIs (application programming interfaces) that allow users to speed up operations by allowing Business Pilot to partner with other pieces of software, such as accounting software and pricing software.

For example, a lot of businesses use Xero for their day-to-day accounting, and with our API, there is no more exporting data, import

sorting data, or double entry. There’s just a button – you simply connect the two systems so everything stays up to date.

It’s the same with front-end pricing tools such as Tommy Trinder and Windowlink. Again, with our APIs, there is no more room for discrepancies because there is no need to export or import the data. It is connected and live.

The FENSA API was launched at last year’s FIT Show, and it was a runaway success. More than 6,000 FENSA registrations have been completed through Business Pilot since the API went live, and we expect the popularity to keep growing.

3 Spreading the news

If you regularly read the industry’s trade media, then you will appreciate the popularity of our Business Pilot Barometer. Thanks to our growing community of Business Pilot users, we can get an overview of what is happening in the window and door industry

right now. Industry reports are usually incredibly speculative or are based on information that is months out of date.

But nothing is more accurate than taking real-time data from those on the ground to say definitively what the market is demanding, and where companies should invest. This is creating partnerships with the industry media, with industry bodies, and with everyone who reads the Business Pilot Barometer.

And join us at 1pm on the Tuesday of the FIT Show for a seminar about how the number and quality of leads has changed over recent months, and how they compare to previous years. We will also explore how you can maximise sales from the leads you have.

4 Valuable feedback

The strongest partnership is the one Business Pilot has with its users, and which ultimately drives the software’s development. It is also the key reason why we are

exhibiting at the FIT Show.

We absolutely encourage feedback from those who use our CRM software on a daily basis. We are proud to create the best system available for installers, but to keep that reputation means we need to continue to develop and maintain that position, and that means working closely with our partners.

Thanks to that feedback, we can continue to develop more APIs, create more features, and build in more reasons for window companies to sign up.

And we’ll be discussing all this and more at the FIT Show where we will have a team of people on hand to guide you through the software an explain how Business Pilot can make you more efficient and profitable.

So, why not become part of the Business Pilot community and visit us on Stand S41 in Hall 9.

To find out more please visit www.businesspilot.co.uk

Free Project Support Available From BM Aluminium

BM Aluminium has created a new projects team dedicated to helping customers make the most of its LogiKal aluminium processing software.

Led by product manager Simon Crilley and technical manager Dan Hodges, the team are working directly with fabricators to customise the software to suit their individual set-ups. They are also providing training to processing departments so that they can use the features which already exist in LogiKal to do things more quickly and efficiently.

Simon Crilley explained: “Our role is basically to add value to our customers’ LogiKal rentals.

That includes things like customising the machinings and third-party items within their

software so that their processing is as streamlined as it can be and tailoring the pricing and estimating function so that it all works better for them.

“When it comes to reporting, we can create bespoke options so that they can interrogate the software to get exactly the information they need and we can, for instance, add in detailed labour calculations to give them a better insight into their costs and margins.

Dan Hodges added: “All too often, we see customers who have had LogiKal within their businesses for several years and are still only scratching the surface of what it can do for them. They’re using lots of the basic functions but haven’t had the time or the in-house expertise to go beyond that.

Sometimes they’re even thinking about investing in additional software for things like managing CAD outputs or generating SAP calculations, without realising that the features they want already exist within LogiKal.

“When we go in, we do all the bespoke programming they need to customise the interface for them and instantly reduce their processing time and then we show them how to access and use any of the other features that might benefit their business.

“LogiKal has always been designed as a futureproof system that can keep pace with how businesses grow and evolve, and it works just as effectively across both trade and commercial sectors. We’re so determined to get that message out there that we’re offering the services of our project team for free.”

Simon Crilley (left) and Dan Hodges (right)

Emplas Gets Cyber Certified For The Second Year In A Row

Emplas has successfully retained the Cyber Essentials Accreditation for the second year in a row, helping to safeguard production against cyber-attack.

Ransomware attacks are big business, which a number of window and door companies have found out to their cost.

The slightest breach in IT security and systems can come crashing down, every piece of data, every piece of software encrypted by criminals, who then charge a release fee – often running to hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The Government-backed National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) scheme is designed to support businesses in protecting themselves against cyber-attack including ransomware and viruses.

Emplas first secured the Cyber Essentials accreditation in December 2021, following an

eight-month programme of investment including a major upgrade of its network, servers, power supplies, virus software – and most importantly cultural change.

It’s now successfully completed a reassessment of its IT infrastructure and processes to successfully retain the accreditation for a second year.

Quang Dinh, head of IT, Emplas, said: “We were targeted by ransomware in March 2021, simply by someone plugging an android phone into their laptop to charge it.

“On that occasion we were able to close-down the attack and recover things very quickly, but it prompted us to review our security systems and complete a major upgrade of our infrastructure and protocols and ultimately we secured the Cyber Essentials Accreditation.

“To retain it is massively important

to our business. Our service offer, EVA, bar code tracking, real-time updates on deliveries and allocated delivery slots – it’s built around IT, so we need to make sure that it’s secure to guarantee business continuity.”

According to the latest government Cyber Security Breaches Survey, UK businesses identified at least one cyber-attack on their operations in the last 12-months.

According to figures from NCSC Cyber Essentials, accredited certified companies cut their risk of cyber-attack by 98.5%.

“It’s about stability and security of supply for our customers”, continued Quang. “We know that a number of fabricators and IGU fabricators have been targeted in the last year and that we will continue to be targeted.

“There is always going to be a risk for any business but we have significantly lowered that risk through the investment that we have made and the training that we’ve given to our people.”

www.emplas.co.uk

Business Micros has increased the support on offer to customers in Scotland, with experienced support technician Robbie Logan promoted to a new role installing machine links and delivering onsite software training.

In Scotland

More Support For Business Micros’ Customers

of England and Wales.

David Stockwell, head of installations at Business Micros said: “Over the past year, we’ve seen quite a significant increase in demand for installs and new machine links in Scotland, so it makes sense for us to have an experienced technician close by.

“It makes the whole team more efficient and more responsive and makes Robbie an even more valuable member of the support team, because he is constantly broadening his knowledge base.”

Having assisted on a couple of machine link installations in 2022, Robbie’s first independent installation was for PVC-U window and door manufacturer Dunster House at their new satellite factory in Cumbernauld. Dunster House chose the same Avantek Super Cut cutting and machining centre which is already in place at their Bedford factory and Robbie worked alongside Avantek engineer Andy Weir on the set up. A key element in the installation was programming the software to ensure that it reflected the Building Regs in Scotland, where there are different requirements for trickle vents and security hardware.

Robbie is also out and about in Scotland delivering onsite training days for customers who are using the Business Micros Evolution and EvoNET software, using all his support experience to answer the most common questions, and help processing teams get the most from their software investment.

Robbie is based at Business Micros’ Penpont office, so he is perfectly placed to look after customers in Scotland and the north of England, leaving the technicians in the team based in the Newton Le Willows office to look after customers in the rest

Robbie added: “It’s great to see my career developing so successfully at Business Micros. I’ve already learned so much in my five years here and I’m relishing the new challenge and opportunity.”

www.businessmicros.co.uk

Robbie Logan (right) pictured with Constantin Oprea, production manager at Dunster House in Cumbernauld

Sheerline Launches

Thermally Efficient Prestige Lift & Slide Patio Door

Sheerline has enhanced its popular Prestige range by adding a new thermally efficient Lift & Slide Patio Door, ready to transform any space. Its’ super slim sightlines of 106mm (frame and sash) maximise the views in any room and it offers highperformance U-values of 1.4 with

double glazing and 1.0 for triple glazing, claims the company.

These U-values are easy to remember as they are the same for every product within the Prestige range and have been achieved thanks to Sheerline’s proprietary Thermlock technology.

It’s a huge achievement for the team and further highlights Sheerline’s commitment to innovative, energy efficient products that don’t compromise on sustainability, security, or style, says the company.

A key feature of the new Lift & Slide Patio Door is the fact it perfectly matches Sheerline’s other products so homeowners can achieve a consistent aesthetic throughout a project. However, fabricators and installers also benefit from the consistency provided by Sheerline’s technical team.

For instance, the Prestige Lift & Slide Patio Door integrates

Dave Broxton

seamlessly with other products as it utilises Sheerline’s proven clip-in bead system. In addition, it’s available in Sheerline’s signature stepped sash, a range contemporary colours, is Part L compliant (as standard) and can be ordered up to a maximum size of 6.5m wide and 2.5m high, with up to 400kg sashes.

Installers will also appreciate the different threshold styles available. This includes the standard outer frame, a version with a clip-on cill nose, alongside a ramped low threshold, which has been tested in-line with Part M requirements. There’s also a concealed zero threshold

available, which is ideal for sheltered locations on projects looking for a seamless transition between spaces.

As with all Sheerline products, the Prestige Lift & Slide Patio Door has been designed to offer high levels of security as standard, featuring a unique retracting hook-lock with flush keeps. Which reduces the risk of snagging clothing on protruding pegs.

The doors glide smoothly during operation because of the specially designed stainless-steel tracks and highperformance running gear. Dual and triple track options are available, which cover most requirements. To enhance the Prestige Lift & Slide Patio Door, a patented sealing system has been incorporated to ensure the doors are weathertight against the worst of the UK’s weather.

Considerable design consideration was also given to ensuring interlocks were as slim as possible, while also maintaining the systems

exceptional thermal credentials. The new Sheerline patio comes with a choice of standard interlocks with slim 80mm sightlines, as well as ultra-slim 52mm interlocks suitable for use on many popular styles.

Sheerline’s product design director, Adrian Redshaw comments: “We’re really proud of our new Prestige Lift & Slide Patio Door because it completes our Prestige range without compromising on the features that are most important to our customers; super slim sightlines, exceptional thermal efficiency, and looks that match all our other products.”

“These are the features that elevate this product, and the Prestige range, to the next level, especially when compared to other products on the market. We’re helping homeowners achieve their dream aesthetic that integrates stylish interiors with beautiful outdoor spaces without compromises,” he added.

www.sheerline.com

PAS24 Success For aluplast’s Flush Door

aluplast’s new open-out Flush Door is robust, fully secure and weather-tight, having successfully passed the rigorous PAS24:2016 and BS6375-2:2009 testing procedures, claims the company.

aluplast launched the Flush Door in 2022 to suite perfectly with

its Flush Casement Window, allowing fabricators and installers to target higher value projects where a uniform appearance is desired.

Like aluplast’s Flush Casement, the new dedicated Flush Door suites perfectly with the systems

company’s Ideal 70 and Ideal 4000 profiles. This opens-up opportunities in both the heritage and contemporary sectors by providing a uniform flush appearance across both windows and doors, while minimising stockholding for fabricators.

aluplast’s Flush Door has a five-chamber design that can achieve U-values as low as 1.2W/ m2K, and is manufactured using ecotech, which uses recycled content in a profile’s design, enhancing performance.

“Talk to any window company in the UK, and they will tell you that the demand for flush has gone through the roof,” Ian Cocken, aluplast’s director of sales and marketing said. “Sourcing products that not only provide a suited flush appearance, but can also demonstrate high performance credentials is key to winning and maintaining business.

“Since the doors are a focal point for would-be intruders, it is vital that you can prove that your products meet the strictest security requirements in the industry, especially since there is increased demand from higher value properties.”

Cocken continued: “Having the credentials to prove the high performance of your products could be a key point of differentiation when you are in front of the customer.”

Aluplast’s Flush Casement

Window also meets the PAS24:2016 requirements, and was tested using a dummy sash to demonstrate the security credentials of the systems company’s purpose-designed dummy sash retention clips.

“It is unusual for a window to be security tested with a dummy sash, because this is often seen as a weak point in the window design,” Cocken said. “Yet,

dummy sashes are often required because they help maintain the sightlines that homeowners prefer.

“Our flush dummy sash retention clips are specially designed for the aluplast system, to make glazing and deglazing much easier in controlled conditions, while improving the window’s security credentials – now supported by a positive PAS24 test result.”

aluplast’s Flush Door is available to all aluplast fabricators, as well as fabricators of other systems where a flush door isn’t available.

“We have also been talking to fabricators where suppliers have a flush door option, but are restricting supply to only a handful of customers,” Cocken said. “This makes no sense to us.

The market for flush windows and doors is growing, and is making up a greater proportion of window and door sales as the overall market slows. Being able to meet this demand is critical to maintaining a healthy workflow.”

The vast majority of aluplast’s flush orders include colour, and with a range of 40 different finishes, including the next generation woodec and aludec foils, aluplast has invested significantly in its foil offer. This has allowed it to maintain a strong supply of its most popular stock colours, with foiled product accounting for as much as 50% of total order volume.

“aluplast has always focused on capacity,” Cocken said. “And we have invested in a new site in Poland which will help guarantee supply for our customers.”

aluplast is in the process of moving into the new £26 million state-of-the-art extrusion facility on a 15-hectare site, which includes a production hall, a raw material mixing plant, alongside state-of-the-art R&D facilities.

This can house up to 50 hightech, high-speed twin extrusion lines – each able to extrude 6m of profile every minute –alongside foiling lines, which will double the profile giant’s already extensive manufacturing capacity.

“We are also doubling in size our facility in Tewkesbury, and together these investments will help guarantee the supply of high-value, robust and secure products into the UK,” Cocken said.

www.aluplast.co.uk

Strong Sales Of The SmartSecure Technology Range For Carl F Groupco

Independent hardware distributor Carl F Groupco is reporting continued strong sales for its SmartSecure range of electromechanical door locking systems and smart access

control solutions.

John Crittenden, managing director at Carl F Groupco, said: “As the industry shifts to higher value and value-added sales,

we’re seeing increasing interest in smart door technology.”

He continued: “We know from feedback that our SmartSecure solutions attract interest from customers across all markets sectors. From consumers who are looking for the latest in technology for their homes through to social housing contracts who need efficient access control solutions. In short, our SmartSecure range delivers a suite of modular technology solutions that are suitable for all market demographics.”

All the products in the range are sourced from reputable and trusted manufacturers and come with suitable product guarantees, says the company.

The FUHR multitronic 881 Door Lock Kit is a complete electronic, motorised multipoint locking system with integrated panic function. It’s suitable for aluminium, timber, composite and PVC-U main entrance doors in residential and non-residential buildings.

The Gilgen Electromechanical Door Opener range adds even more value to the multitronic 881 because together they provide a complete electronic door solution.

The intelligent SmartConnect easy access control system allows users to open doors with a smart phone or tablet, while the SmartTouch comfort is a transponder that allows users to unlock the door by gently touching a sensor.

John said: “If you’re interested in tapping into this fast-emerging market, we have the products you need.

www.carlfgroupco.co.uk

www.smartsecure.co.uk

www.carlfdirect.co.uk

Total Hardware Adds The New Yale SlotVent To Its Portfolio

Total Hardware has added the new Yale SlotVent trickle vent to its portfolio. Chris Pell, general manager at Total Hardware, says: “With the introduction of the revised Part F of Building Regulations last year, there has been increased demand for trickle vents. As one of Yale’s largest hardware distributors and suppliers of one of the biggest portfolios of Yale products, it was only natural that we would add the SlotVent to our portfolio to support our customers in meeting the new regulations.

“Yale is a household name in building security and it’s a brand consumers trust. Like all Yale products, the SlotVent has innovative features that add value.”

The internal vent is Yale-branded to give consumers visual reassurance of the quality of the vent. It can be tilted to 30, 60 or 90 degrees according to ventilation requirements and the range includes options with and without

Resi-Doors Hinge On Sigma

a foam gasket that reduces noise and draughts.

The external hood provides ventilation whilst preventing water from entering the home. And for installations where an external hood might hamper the opening of the window, there’s an optional flyscreen that’s typically fitted in an overframe profile section or through the head of the window.

The SlotVent is available in 12 colours, which can be mixed and matched to suit the aesthetics of the window.

The Yale SlotVent has been designed and tested to comply with The Building Regulations England and Wales requirement F – Means of Ventilation and the Scottish Building Regulations Standard 3.14.

www.totalhardwareltd.co.uk

thanks to new colours and its 10-year surface guarantee.

VBH describe the product as a premium quality adjustable hinge for rebated PVCu doors weighing up to 100kg.

Its 3D adjustment is carried out with a standard 5mm hex key, to make setting up the door on site extremely easy for installers.

Gary Gleeson of VBH says, “Thanks to its design, Sigma remains a stylish product and looks great even on older and newer profile designs. It is the standard door hinge for many fabricators of all sizes not only for its appearance, but also because it is easy to fit and is installer-friendly.

“We are always talking to customers about the benefits of our greenteQ range of suited resi-door, patio door and window furniture, of which Sigma is a major component. The introduction of new colours, coupled with the other benefits of Sigma has led many fabricators to choose Sigma Flag as their hinge option.”

Hardware manufacturer, VBH, is reporting a surge in the popularity of its greenteQ Sigma Flag Hinge,

VBH point out that, as with all greenteQ Suite products, even the plated finishes of the Sigma hinge are supplied with a full 10-year function and finish guarantee.

www.vbhgb.com

greenteQ Gets A Handle On Bi-Folds

Hardware manufacturer, VBH, has expanded its range of bi-fold door handles with a new addition to the greenteQ SlimFold range.

The new internal/external handle set provides customers with the option to operate the door’s intermediate locks from both the inside and outside. The handle accepts a Euro profile cylinder for security.

VBH advise that, as with the existing internal-only SlimFold options, which are available with and without the provision of a cylinder hole, the new handle set stands just 17mm off the face of the door when inactive. The lever nestles into the base plate when not in use, allowing the sashes to stack closely together when fully open.

SlimFold is available in up to six colours of the greenteQ Suite to match or complement aluminium bi-fold door finishes.

The handles feature ‘Lift & Turn’ technology. To open the door, the user simply pushes in the top of the lever to raise the bottom of the handle from its ‘nest’, and then turns the handle to unlock the door.

www.vbhgb.com

Two New Window Handle Ranges Now Available From AT Precision

Hardware supplier AT Precision has added two new window handle ranges to its product portfolio, ensuring fabricators have access to a full suite of accessories when it comes to their aluminium requirements.

The Durham-based company’s new range of offset window handles is available in gold, white, chrome and satin silver, and not only provides a polished premium finish, but also maximum clearance in performance, while the new inline range of window handles offers the same premium standard and performance, claims the company, but with an even wider range of colours to choose from, including gold, white, chrome, satin silver, as well as black and anthracite grey.

AT Precision sales director Michael Hewitt comments: “Investing in two new high-quality window handle ranges has added to our ever-growing product portfolio, ensuring our fabricator customers are able to rely on AT Precision for all their hardware needs.

“Both the offset and inline ranges have been designed with premium materials to deliver a superior aesthetic, providing a smooth and streamlined operation. They are also both supplied with screws, non-locking inserts and a key, as well as clip fit cover caps.

“Both ranges have also been salt spray tested and come with a 10year operation and surface finish guarantee.”

The company also offers a 10year guarantee on all its products, and promises next day delivery for orders made before 1pm, with free delivery on orders over £250.

Michael concludes: “At AT Precision, we pride ourselves on both the quality of our products and the wide range of our portfolio. Our new window handle ranges have been the perfect addition to our offering, and we look forward to seeing our valued customers benefit from these new products.”

www.atprecision.co.uk

Emergency Exit Hardware Demand From Carl F Groupco

Carl F Groupco has reported continued demand for its comprehensive range of panic and emergency exit hardware from FUHR, the manufacturer of highquality multipoint locking systems. John Crittenden, managing director of Carl F Groupco, said: “There are stringent and precise requirements for panic and emergency exit hardware in commercial buildings. FUHR has a comprehensive range of solutions and we’re here to help fabricators and commercial specifiers select the products that are right for their projects.”

The company offers FUHR panic hardware solutions for both single and double doors manufactured from aluminium, composite, timber and PVC-U. All products have been tested and certified according to EN 179 (which applies to non-public buildings where potential users have been fully trained on how to use the door) or

EN 1125 (which applies to public buildings or other premises where occupants may not be familiar with exit routes and hardware devices). The products also meet the requirements of PAS24:2016, meaning there’s no compromise on security.

The popular FUHR 870 and 871 emergency exit multipoint door locks feature two steel round bolts, latch and deadbolt. From the inside, both the 870 and 871 can be opened at any time to provide an emergency or panic exit. This is ideal for emergency exit doors which are in regular use during the day but need to be fully secure at night.

Suitable for use with the FUHR emergency and panic exit locks, the FUHR CISA Fast Touch Panic Bar is an ideal solution for installations to comply with Scottish Building Regulations.

Scottish regulations stipulate that hardware on panic exit doors should protrude no further than 150mm for Category 1 doors and 100mm for Category 2 doors: at just 75mm from the door, the CISA Fast Touch Panic Bar is well under this regulation.

For commercial buildings requiring the ultimate in next-level security, the SmartSecure FUHR 881 Multitronic fully motorised multipoint locking system is the answer, says Carl F Groupco. The system, with an integrated panic function, offers automatic electronic opening and closing with the lock engaging as soon as the door is closed. The door can then be unlocked using either a key, access control or finger scanner. All locking parts automatically extend and engage when the door is closed, including the deadbolt for uncompromised security.

According to Carl F Groupco, it carries the biggest FUHR range of products in the UK and is the company’s largest customer worldwide. John said: “FUHR is renowned for its quality and its products give our customers enhanced functionality and the ability to comply with the latest standards and regulations.”

www.carlfgroupco.co.uk

Yale Develops PAS 24 Patio Lock For Epwin Window Systems

The longstanding partnership between Yale and Epwin Window Systems has been strengthened after Yale developed a new PAS 24:2016 patio lock solution for the company.

Yale says the bespoke lock delivers impeccable security, featuring ten locking hooks and bespoke one-piece keeps with aesthetically pleasing packers and endcaps. The new lock has been carefully designed to complement Epwin’s Optima profile.

Suitable for doors sizing from 1785mm to 2273mm rebate height, the lock successfully achieved PAS 24:2016 accreditation. This provides homeowners with peace of mind as it demonstrates that it has

satisfied a range of criteria, based on extensive testing, to prove it can resist common methods of attack from burglars.

“We often look to Yale when it comes to the security of our products and are very pleased that we chose to partner with them to develop a PAS 24 patio

Debar

Expands Bi-Fold Hardware Range

lock solution,” explains Rob Shaw, design manager at Epwin Window Systems.

“We’re delighted with the result because it scores equally high marks for security and style, which is exactly what we were after.”

Paul Jelley, technical manager at Yale Door & Window Solutions adds: “We are always happy to develop bespoke solutions that meet our customers’ exact needs.

“Epwin Window Systems are a longstanding and valued Yale customer, and we are proud to have worked closely with them on this PAS 24 solution. It is based on our well-established patio lock range and is manufactured right here in the UK, at our Willenhall Centre of Excellence for Door Products.”

www.yaledws.co.uk

www.epwin.co.uk

Developing quality products is a huge priority for the Bradford-based bi-fold manufacturer and so the team has specially designed these handles so they not only look aesthetically excellent but are also high-performing, says Debar.

All screws are concealed by a patent pending aesthetic plate to create a seamless clean look for the homeowner, while also boasting an anti-rotating innovation to deliver extra security by ensuring that the handle remains in place and cannot be tampered with by unauthorised persons.

With three different choices available within the range, the Veltѐ handles offer a variety of options for homeowners. One of which includes a landmark product which is the company’s first handle that includes an impressive integrated cylinder.

Veltѐ handle assembly unlocked

Debar has further expanded its portfolio of bi-fold hardware products with the launch of a brandnew line of contemporary and modern bi-fold door handles.

Veltѐ is a sleek and minimalist range of handles which is suitable for most intermediate bi-fold door locking panels.

Debar also offers a standard handle and a handle that features an escutcheon for an 18mm Euro cylinder. The handle tilts outwards for easy operation and is completely flat when not in use.

Constructed from zinc die cast and steel spindle, these handles fit on gearboxes or shoot bolt locks with 7mm spindle and 43 screw centres, such as the Debar Robus Locks.

bifold-hardware.com

Sky’s The Limit

With New Ali Rooflight From Listers

Listers now offers the Luma aluminium rooflight from Eurocell, which can open up a thriving market sector for more retail companies looking to extend their product ranges.

“Rooflights have grown in popularity over the last few years as homeowners looked to make the most of their space after the pandemic,” Listers’ MD Roy Frost said. “They can be fitted retrospectively or easily incorporated as part of a newbuild, and we’ve seen them specified on a range of projects, such as existing or new flat roof

extensions, garage conversions, and even garden rooms.

“Since they are very attractive and bring light to the very heart of a building, they also provide a great opportunity to upsell, which makes it a valuable product to have in your catalogue.”

Luma flat rooflights are fixed, with a sleek and contemporary look and feel, and are made to measure in sizes up to 2.5m2. There are no bars across the glass to interrupt the view of the sky or cast shadows across the room below.

Kolorseal Provides Perfect Colour Options

Contech Conservatory Roofing Ltd is a customer oriented business that has a long-standing working relationship with Kolorseal on coloured roofing projects.

Over the years, Gareth Jones, managing director at Contech Conservatories has noticed how colour is being used more frequently to create striking finishes and powerful messages on projects, particularly if this requires something a little out of the ordinary.

or commercial building. As a company we want to ensure we can give as broad a choice as possible which is where Kolorseal excels.”

Matching corporate colours on

project that colour matching was essential as everything had been rebranded and things needed to be kept commensurate. Bifold doors, windows and guttering were required externally and internally to match the company logo in a dark green shade.

Gareth Jones, director, Contech Conservatory Roofing Ltd comments, “The entire project was manufactured according to the exact specification of our customer and the business owners wishes for this extremely high specification job.”

He concludes, “This particular combination worked a treat and it

3 VS

Fentrade Aluminium Adds New Internal Screening System To Its Range

Fentrade Aluminium has added the ID30 Internal Door and Screening System to its growing aluminium product range. Chris Reeks, director at Fentrade, said: “The ID30 Internal Door and fixed glazing system is the ideal product for creating bespoke glazed interior partitions, dividers or walls of glass. It’s the perfect solution for installers, builders and specifiers looking to make

the most of high-end aluminium products and tap into the trend for open-plan room aesthetics.”

Suitable for residential and commercial projects, the ID30 Internal Door and Screening System has been developed to create light internal environments.

ID30 can be used to divide or delineate both residential and

commercial spaces with a range of inset door options for easy access. Door options included hinged, pivot, sliding and bifolding door configurations. Chris said: ”The system has been intelligently designed and its slim sightlines are perfect for creating light-filled spaces with a choice of heritage or contemporary aesthetics.”

The new ID30 Internal Door and Screening System will take centre stage on Fentrade’s stand S33 at the FIT Show which runs from 23rd-25th May, 2023. Chris said: “FIT Show 2023 was the perfect platform for us to introduce the product to existing and potential new customers. Our experienced

team will be available throughout the show’s three days to discuss the product in more detail and demonstrate the depth and breadth of our overall offer.”

Chris said: “Our company ethos has always been to offer the products that today’s installers and commercial contractors need which is why we continually evaluate and, where necessary, expand our range.”

Chris continued: “If you’re planning a visit to the FIT show, please come and see us on stand S33 and discover how Fentrade can add value to your business.”

fentradealuminium.co.uk

Rising Demand For TruFit Installation Tape

Edgetech may be best known for its warm-edge spacer technology, but the Quanex company is experiencing rapidly rising demand for another cutting-edge product it offers.

TruFit is a state-of-the-art window installation tape. Made of open-cell polyurethane foam and filled with a flame-retardant synthetic resin, it provides a much quicker, cleaner and more thermally efficient alternative to traditional silicone, claims the company.

Once the tape’s backing paper is removed, it gradually expands to seal the window fully, ensuring it offers exceptional all-round performance – protecting against mould, and providing first-class thermal and acoustic insulation. In addition to this, it’s much easier to apply than silicone and can be used in all weathers, says the company.

Edgetech head of marketing Charlotte Hawkes suggests these reasons are behind the growth of interest in TruFit:

“The biggest factor driving the surge of interest in TruFit is clearly energy efficiency.

“Installers have always been very impressed with TruFit when they’ve seen it but, in the past, they have often chosen to stick with what they know.

“For many of those installers, the last year has been a tipping point. The huge rises in household energy prices, combined with continuing pressure to help the country reach net zero, has led to a surge in the numbers of customers enquiring about TruFit.

“It’s an incredibly effective tool for helping installers fit windows and offers outstanding thermal performance – in addition to being quicker, cleaner and easier to use than silicone.

According to market forecasts we’re also heading for a tougher time ahead for the industry, those that do well in times like these innovate to differentiate themselves. We believe that right now TruFit offers a unique opportunity for installers to stand out, before products like these become the norm and we have a full marketing package to support this”.

Corrivo Adds Aluminium Window Pods To Portfolio

Window installation companies working on new build developments, residential housing and commercial projects can now get aluminium window pods with super-fast delivery from Corrivo.

With more than 20 years’ experience fabricating flashings for the commercial roofing sector, the Midlands-based company is now expanding its product offering to meet the needs of commercial window installers.

Surrounding the window frame, aluminium window pods are a popular choice for contractors and installers looking to add an architectural statement to their façade. Corrivo can manufacture

them in a wide selection of sizes as well as almost any RAL colour, making them the ideal choice to meet the design needs of any project.

It’s the second time in the past six months that Corrivo has expanded its product range, after adding Secret Fix aluminium cappings to its portfolio last year.

“We’re always reacting to the demands of our customers to adjust our product range, but this time we’ve taken a proactive approach to take us into new markets,” says Scott Quig, national sales manager at Corrivo Building Products.

“The window pods are a popular product which are ideal for a number of projects, including new build housing developments, residential apartment blocks and commercial settings.

“Not only will this mean we can help the design needs of a wide range of projects, but it will also give even more customers access to our speedy and reliable service.

“We house an experienced fabrication team coupled with state-of-the-art machinery, which allows us to offer rapid, nationwide delivery on all our products – and this new addition to our portfolio will be no different.

“Our fast turnaround times are why our existing customers love working with us, and we look forward to showing a new sector how working with us will allow everything to go smoothly and help their project to stay on schedule.”

Liniar Launches Seamless Vented Head Drip

Available in white and foiled finishes, the new component offers a seamless colour finish which maintains the stylish appearance of windows and doors – and, says the company, unlike other solutions, Liniar’s vent replaces the exterior trickle vent, rather than just covering it up.

A recent update to Part F building regulations requires the introduction of further ventilation to new and existing homes where upgrades and building works are being completed, which is being mostly achieved through the introduction of trickle vents. According to Liniar, this has, however, caused issues for the industry, with their appearance being disliked by consumers as well as the availability of trickle vents

Liniar is claiming a UK-first with the launch of a patent pending vented head drip.

themselves being a challenge. Introducing an alternative that complies with current and future building regulations and also ensures a seamless finish, Liniar’s design and development director Chris Armes comments, “As an industry, we spend a lot of time and effort creating products that are going to enhance the look of properties. Homeowners and installers alike aren’t keen on traditional trickle vents, as they can spoil the appearance of the finished products.”

Chris continues, “My team and I felt there had to be a more attractive alternative to the standard exterior trickle vent. We went to work designing a product that complies with the legislation, gives a seamless finish and can be foiled for a perfect match. Using our inhouse 3D printer combined with flow analysis software and physical product testing, we developed Liniar’s vented head drip, an innovative way to eliminate the need for exterior trickle vents.”

Liniar’s vented head drip is manufactured in the UK and is fully tested to BS EN 131411, with a patent pending. The vented head drip can either be installed across the full length of the compatible windows and doors for enhanced weather performance or alternatively trimmed with end caps.

Chris concludes, “This latest product innovation is testament to Liniar’s commitment in helping our industry ensure compliance without compromise. The vented head drip is a fantastic new addition to our portfolio of components that will help fabricators and fitters solve complaints about the look of exterior trickle vents.” www.liniar.co.uk

Easy Glass Scratch Removal, Says Bohle

Cero-gel from Bohle removes small marks and scratches on glass left behind by lifting equipment used during the installation process, or by the glass handling equipment in the glass processing factory, claims the company.

The microscopic imperfections in glass can attract dirt, including particles deposited by vacuum lifting cups, which can be a source of customer complaint.

“Trying to remove these marks can cause a real headache for customers,” Bohle’s managing director Dave Broxton said. “Cerogel, developed and produced by Bohle, is a cerium oxide polishing paste, which is designed to remove surface contamination such as limescale, cement marks or silicone, as well as light scratches.”

Cero-gel was developed specifically for the window and glass industry. It is designed for easy use, packaged in a small aerosol and can be applied to vertical glass surfaces without dripping. Surface contamination can usually be removed with a damp microfibre cloth, but for scratches a drill-mounted felt polishing bob is most effective.

Cero-gel is also suitable for

ceramics and stone, and it contains no irritants or corrosive ingredients

When something stronger than Cero-gel is required, Bohle XtraClean removes more stubborn surface contamination quickly and easily, including limescale from glass showers, concretion on glass processing machines, and grinding residues, especially from satinfinished glass. It is especially good for removing burnt-in stains on hobs and oven doors but equally at home removing graffiti, flash rust, silicone residue, oil and grease deposits.

Like Cero-gel, XtraClean can simply be applied using a damp microfibre cloth. Higher temperatures will release more essential oils making the product go even further.

To avoid marks from the outset, the Veribor lifting equipment range from Bohle is specifically designed to minimise marking, while offering exceptional service in use, Dave said.

“In the end, maybe it is better not to mark the glass in the first place,” he said.

Please visit www.bohle.com

New Products From Listers At The FIT Show

office area, for example.

“Both products give our customers access to budgets that could have gone elsewhere, which will be more profitable because the fitting teams are already on site.”

The exclusive new aluminium entrance door with be available in the same range of colours as the Sheerline range, and will come with matching frames.

Listers is also having a sustainable approach to its presence at this year’s FIT Show, by using second-hand flooring (which will also go on to be used elsewhere after the show) and rehoming all stand material in new or existing showrooms. Nothing on the 8m x 4m stand will be specified that will be thrown away at the end of day three.

“We’ve got so much to share with our customers,” Roy said. “We can hardly wait to meet everyone at the NEC in Birmingham in May to unveil all our developments.”

National fabricator Listers will be offering window installers new high-value products to sell to homeowners, as well as new opportunities to maximise margin, when they exhibit at the FIT Show in May this year, says the company.

Among the products to be unveiled on Stand U27 in Hall 9 will be an exclusive new aluminium entrance door and an internal glass panel door, both of which will help Listers’ customers upsell to their existing customers.

“We have one of the most exciting product ranges in the window and door industry,” managing director Roy Frost said. “Not only are we the home of the Sheerline aluminium range of

windows, doors and lanterns, but we have a wide choice of PVC-U windows and doors, including Residence Collection, Veka and Eurocell.

“Importantly, they are all Part-L ready and are available on the same lead times in a wide range of colours, which is what our customers demand to stay one step ahead of the competition.

“With our new aluminium entrance door and internal panel door, we are creating new opportunities – we are completing our aluminium offer, and giving our customers access to the inside of the properties with products that allow light to flood the interior while demarcating space – by separating out an

Listers’ FIT Show appearance will come just a month after its own series of open days at its showroom in Stoke, which promise talks, demonstrations, workshops and factory tours.

Many of the industry’s leading brands will also be represented, presenting talks on the latest industry issues, and will be free to discuss pressing concerns over lunch or a coffee. These include: Kubu Smart; GripCore (DoorCo); Glazpart; Ultion; Quickslide; Lasco PR and Marketing; Full Circle Marketing; and Business Pilot.

These will be alongside representatives from Residence Collection, Veka Halo, Sheerline, Reynaers and Eurocell, who will be available to talk about specific product development and regulation compliance.

www.listerwindows.co.uk

Garnalex’s Sheerline To Take Aluminium Range To The FIT Show 2023

Garnalex has announced its’ Sheerline brand will exhibit at the FIT Show for the first time this year, which is celebrating its 10-year anniversary and takes place from May 23-25 at the NEC, Birmingham. Providing the ideal platform to showcase Sheerline’s perfectly matched aluminium window and door ranges.

As well as a complete range of high-performance windows, doors, bi-folds and patio doors, Sheerline will also display the S1 Roof Lantern, one of the most secure roof lanterns available in the UK which achieved Secured by Design accreditation last year, claims the company.

In addition, the brand will exclusively reveal some exciting new products while exhibiting at stand Q31. These latest additions promise the same high-performance features that Sheerline’s customers have become accustomed to; ease

of fabrication, lots of installer benefits, and straight forward Part L compliance.

Nickie West, FIT Show event director, comments: “The representation of aluminium window and door solutions has gone from strength to strength at FIT Show over the last few years, fuelled by increased demand from end users, including commercial providers and more demanding homeowners. It’s what the market wants, and I’m excited to announce Sheerline Aluminium Windows & Doors, who visitors may be more familiar with as the umbrella brand Garnalex, will help us to deliver this vital material at FIT Show 2023.”

“From windows and doors through to their bi-fold doors and lanterns, our visitors will be able to see, touch and feel the entire Sheerline range, as well as speak first hand to the people behind the brand’s

unique approach to aluminium at the show,” she added.

Attendees of the FIT Show will have the opportunity to explore Sheerline’s innovative product range and find out more about Thermlock. An alternative to polyamide thermal breaks, this proprietary technology has enabled the brand to achieve incredibly low U-values consistently across all its’ product ranges, says the company.

While this is beneficial for homeowners from an energy efficiency point of view, it is also helpful from a building regulations perspective, as all Sheerline products are Part-L compliant as standard. Fabricator customers also have the option to use the brand’s Thermal Calculator software to generate Energy Ratings and U-values quickly.

Sheerline CEO, Roger Hartshorn, said: “Attending the FIT Show is a fantastic opportunity for us. Many within the industry have heard of Garnalex, but it’s time for Sheerline to take centre stage.”

“What we’ve created is something truly special – Part-L compliance as standard with exceptional thermal efficiency offered across a fully suited range of products. With good looks that match perfectly and in-built security as standard, all delivered from our vertically integrated UK site. We invite attendees of the FIT Show to stand Q31 to see for themselves what we offer and discover what sets us apart from the competition. You won’t be disappointed,” he added.

The sales and technical team are looking forward to sharing the latest product developments and demonstrating the range on stand Q31.

New Integral Blind Systems Lined Up

For Debut At 2023 FIT Show

Several new additions to the UniBlinds integral blinds range will make their public debut at this year’s FIT Show in May, according to manufacturer Morley Glass.

The company is currently finalising its plans for the industry’s event, which it regarded as a huge success in 2022 given the footfall to its stand and enquiries received. Last year, the Morley Glass stand attracted hundreds of fabricators and installers over three days, many of whom were keen to discover more about the sales opportunities unlocked by adding Uni-Blinds integral blinds to their product portfolio.

FIT Show 2023 visitors will once again be able to explore the full Uni-Blinds integral blinds range, this time on its 140 sq. m stand L41. The Morley Glass team will be on hand to provide tutorials on the various control systems available, including the popular magnetic slider of the SV and SV+ sliding Venetian, and visitors will be able to see the latest black colour option for Venetian integral blinds up close.

The show will also offer an opportunity for fabricators and installers to discuss any technical queries face to face and find out about the way in which Morley Glass operates with sustainability at its core.

The soon to be launched new products are set to take centre stage. Morley Glass has been working closely with its exclusive integral blind systems partner, Pellini S.p.A., to ensure FIT Show visitors will be first to see a number of new developments. Further information will be announced in the coming weeks, but the companies have been able to confirm that a new pleated blackout roof blind will make its debut at the show.

This new modern pleated blackout blind will be compatible with any flat rooflight and give total blackout inside the room if required, claims the company. In addition, all the flat rooflight integral blind units will be made with solar control glasses and heat soaked.

Ian Short, MD of Morley Glass, said: “We’ve been looking forward to FIT Show 2023 from the minute the doors closed last time round, and we are pulling out all the stops to give visitors the very best experience when they stop by. That’s why we’ve been working hard with Pellini to make sure we will have our latest exciting new innovations ready to launch – full details on these will be available soon.

“If you’re planning a visit to the show, come and see us. Integral blinds continue to offer huge sales potential for installers as awareness amongst homeowners is still relatively low. They are easy to fit and we will provide all the support you will need to market and sell them effectively.”

Anyone wishing to register for a FIT Show 2023 VIP ticket can already do so via the exclusive Morley Glass link here

Business Micros Group Returns To FIT

The Business Micros Group will be at this year’s FIT Show showing fabricators and installers why, when it comes to software and web solutions, it is still one of the main suppliers in the industry.

All the Business Micros Group companies will be represented on Stand T32 – including BM Aluminium which will be giving visitors their first look at v12 of its LogiKal aluminium processing software and demonstrating some of the features and shortcuts in LogiKal, which can help users get even more value from their rental subscription.

Alongside them, the Business Micros team will be highlighting the newest stock management and delivery features in its EvoNET business management system and The Consultancy will be demonstrating their web development and retail lead generation solutions.

Potentially one of the biggest draw for PVC-U suppliers though will be the first showing at FIT of BM Touch – the Group’s new live data driven software platform that can take a lead all the way from retail enquiry, through quotation and online ordering and into fabrication. There will be demos of both the Touch Portal option

for fabricators and Touch Vendor option for installers, so visitors can see for themselves why more than 30 leading fabricators have already placed orders and are set to go live with the system in 2023.

Graeme Bailey, group managing director, said: “We’re very excited to be back at FIT in 2023 as the bigger and stronger BM Group. Our stand will showcase the depth and breadth of our product range and expertise and reinforce to existing and potential new customers that we can support them with any digital or software requirement.”

Nickie West, the FIT Show event director, added: “Business Micros exhibited at the very first FIT Show back in 2013, and have supported several editions over the last decade. Software is hugely important to our visitors – it helps them save time, streamline efficiency and, ultimately, facilitates making them more profitable. We’re excited to showcase how the Business Micros software has developed over the last ten years, and I’m really pleased that they will be participating in our anniversary event this May.” www.thebmgroup.co.uk

Haffner Brings Two New Machining Centres To Market

Haffner Ltd has unveiled two new PVC-U automated machining centres, which are due for market release over the next few months. Dave Thomas, chief executive officer at Haffner, said: “As a business committed to delivering the machines our customers need, we have extended our SBA machining centre portfolio with the addition of two new machining centres. Like all our machines, they have been designed to deliver high levels of automation throughout the fabrication process, speeding up production, improving product accuracy and turbo-charging efficiency.”

The new SBA-1 Machining Centre has been designed and built

by Haffner to assist the smaller fabricator who wants to compete in a market where labour prices are high and skilled workers are also hard to find. This ‘sensibly priced’ machining centre will allow fabricators to cut and route between 300-400 windows per week with just one operator.

Similarly, the new SBA-5 Machining Centre is a machine ‘powerhouse’. It has all the attributes of the highly popular SBA-4 including additional servos to further increase routing times on both door profiles and night vents.

Dave commented: “The benefits of automating window and door fabrication have always been

clear when boosting efficiency and productivity on the factory floor. The two new machines are suitable for fabricators at all levels looking to scale production output as fluctuating demand dictates with minimal resources.”

The machines are claimed to be easy to programme, control and adjust, giving them maximum flexibility and useability. And with minimal operational manpower needed, they also help lessen the impact of the current workforce shortage too.

Dave said: “Automated machines speed up the manufacturing process and can amplify the workforce by achieving more output with less skilled manpower. This allows fabricators to adapt to the current workforce shortage, help create more efficient processes and relieve existing workforce pressures too.”

The new machines look set to be popular with the company reporting it has already received its first pre-launch order for the new SBA-5 Machining Centre from a largescale fabricator.

www.haffnerltd.com

Guidance From

Emmegi (UK) Helps Neat Gates Choose Ideal Machinery Package

Quality machines, attention to detail and honest guidance all helped Emmegi (UK) win the contract to supply Neat Gates with the machinery package for its brand-new state of the art factory in Dublin, says the company.

Established last year to manufacture bespoke aluminium gates and railings for both trade and retail customers, Neat Gates is the first of its kind in Ireland, claims the company. It is part of gate automation company The Electro Automation Group, and designs, manufactures and supplies gates with and without automatic entry.

The production team at Neat Gates wanted to work with an established machinery manufacturer and forge a professional partnership which would help them build a

reputation from the outset for precision quality products.

They talked to several suppliers but chose Emmegi because of the efforts the team based in Ireland made to really understand Neat’s objectives and recommend a package which suited the factory perfectly.

The package included a Classic Magic twin-head cutting centre, a Phantomatic X4 CNC machining centre, a Lilliput end miller, Copia 384 copy router and a selection of Acca XL tables and trollies.

Keith Finnerty, Neat Gate’s production manager, commented: “We liked the fact that Emmegi gave us honest guidance on what would benefit us most going forward. It was also a big plus for us to get all the machines and the complete software package from one dedicated source, rather than

a mish-mash of different products sold under one umbrella.

“As we are targeting trade customers who want profiles prepared to exacting specifications, we felt that our choice of equipment was vital. We’re confident that by investing in high end machines from a supplier like Emmegi we are making a statement about our commitment to quality. We’ve been impressed by the support they have provided on installation and training as well, so we are looking forward to building a partnership which will effectively future proof our business.”

Jim O’Connell, Emmegi (UK)’s sales manager in Ireland added: “When it comes to manufacturing in aluminium, I would argue that the breadth and depth of Emmegi’s product range is pretty much unbeatable. Neat Gates recognised that, and they have already had great feedback from customers on the set up and layout of the factory and the quality and strength of their products.”

www.emmegi.com neatgates.com

Fire-Resistant Glazing Installed At Elizabeth Line Station

A 50-metre elevated concourse suspended high above the platforms of Whitechapel station helps to manage passenger flow at the busy travel hub.

Advanced glass, supplied by Pilkington United Kingdom Limited, part of the NSG Group, lets light into the space while providing commuters with sheltered passage whilst entering or egressing the Elizabeth Line.

All stations must be designed to provide the highest level

of protection to passengers in the case of an accident or fire, according to Transport for London’s (TfL) stringent safety standards. This meant specifying an advanced glass solution for the barriers that delivered both the structural integrity and aesthetic appearance required for a raised walkway.

Pilkington Pyroclear Plus fireresistant glass was specified along the elevated concourse, with the project forming part of refurbishment works across the Elizabeth line.

Coming at it from a new angle

The project included a sequence of glass panelling, held within wide-set horizontal metal frames to create a smooth glazing around the elevated concourse. The advanced glass allows for the feature to run along sloped inclines required to transport passengers from above ground to platform level.

A key hurdle for the project was accounting for the incline required for the station corridors. While Pilkington Pyroclear Plus had been tested and approved for inclines of up to 10°, Whitechapel required the panel integrity to remain at 15°.

Fire resistant testing up to temperatures of 1000°C for a duration of 90 minutes was carried out to ensure the glass was fit for the application.

Testing for a significantly extended period of time provided the data to demonstrate that the glass would perform its function for the required 30-minute specification, while under the greater strain of a 15° incline.

Pilkington Pyroclear Plus’ ability to withstand significant heat from open flames will play an essential part in ensuring passengers’ safety, claims the company.

Peter Jenkins, architect director, head of transport at BDP, said: Whitechapel station feels very different to other underground stations. The daylight, natural ventilation and open environment create a welcome ambience in this congested part of the capital, enabling people to enjoy fresh air and views to the outside environment from the concourse, with enhanced historic features which highlight

the unique personality of the local community.

“Pilkington UK’s efforts to go above and beyond to ensure that its fire resistant glass could stand up to specification requirements was essential in supporting a bright, safe and modernised design approach to commuter travel across London.”

Supporting London’s wider transport network

Pilkington UK has also been involved in supporting passenger safety across other areas of the Elizabeth line, supplying four kilometres of glass passenger safety barriers at platform edges.

The glazed barriers feature on both the 240-metre-long eastbound and westbound platforms at the Paddington, Bond Street, Woolwich, Canary Wharf, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street and Whitechapel stations.

Stephen Bond, customer support manager, Fire Protection at Pilkington UK said: “Working alongside Crossrail to facilitate a bespoke architect-inspired installation has highlighted the operational ability of

our Pilkington Pyroclear fire resistant glass range. It is capable of protecting passengers from fire or accidents, while also fitting to the space to deliver the desired aesthetic appearance.

“This project exemplifies our ability to collaborate with clients to develop unique architectural applications that not only suit form, but function as well.”

“The newly installed glass across Whitechapel station’s passenger concourse represents our contribution to the safeguarding of London’s commuters, as well as our commitment to supporting one of the UK’s largest transport projects in meeting different design challenges across the line.”

The Elizabeth line serves 41 accessible stations, 31 of them upgraded, including all three terminal rail stations at Heathrow and services to Reading. It will boost central London’s rail capacity by 10 per cent, bringing an additional 1.5 million people within 45 minutes’ commute of central London.

Methodist Church Users Praise Warmth

A North Yorkshire methodist church can offer an even warmer welcome to its community thanks to the installation of Granada Glazing’s secondary glazing system that has eliminated cold draughts and improved the 115-year-old building’s thermal efficiency, claims the company.

Secondary glazing, alongside insulation in the roof space, was fitted as part The Yorkshire North and East District Circuit’s drive to improve their carbon footprint and move towards a Net Zero Carbon District by 2040.

Situated in a conservation area, Thirsk Methodist Church was built in 1908 as a Sunday School and converted to a church in 1959. However, its original single-glazed stained glass and leaded lights provided little thermal insulation for worshippers and groups using

the facility.

Following an energy assessment report, the church engaged an architect, Tim Ord to lead the project and liaise with Granada Glazing’s team. He says: “As the church is in a conservation area, secondary glazing was the preferred option to preserve the original windows and leave the external appearance unchanged. Granada’s website was good and showed that they do ecclesiastical buildings, which is what I was after.”

A total of 16 horizontal sliding units and lift out units were installed, all with 6mm toughened Low-E glass with a special coating that reflects heat back into the interior to keep the building warmer. The units fitted over the staircase window created a particular

design feature as Tim observes: “The sloping bottom rail of the secondary glazing followed the string of the stair and looked very good. The handrail adjacent the window was removed to allow for the new secondary glazing.”

Tim adds: “It had been a while since I’d done a secondary glazing project and I was pleased when I found Granada Glazing. The original windows were very draughty and secondary glazing has stopped that. It’s a goodlooking system and the units slide nicely, making them easy to open for cleaning purposes.”

Karen Collin, church steward and treasurer says the building feels warmer and ‘it’s certainly cut the draughts’, adding:

“The secondary glazing looks excellent, you don’t really notice it. One person even remarked ‘where is it?’. It’s early days, but I’m sure it will reduce our energy bills. As part of our EcoChurch ethos, this project is helping us to lower our carbon footprint and get us nearer to net zero.”

Promat Delivers

Rapid Response Fire Rated Glazing Solution For Sheffield Project

glass was delivered on time, with over 50m2 of glass cut, edge finished and taped before being quality checked and delivered to site. The installation was finished by the Rated Solutions team with just hours to spare.

Rebecca Knight, managing director of Ovo Spaces said: “Promat and Rated Solutions have been hugely helpful throughout the process, from initial quotation to installation, everything has been very clear and well done. They worked to extremely tight deadlines to manufacture the screens and their site installation teams were both speedy and efficient and a thoroughly friendly team, installing an excellent quality system. In future they will be our “go to” people!”

Ovo Spaces and its client also benefit from the peace of mind offered by Promat’s 360-degree ‘wheel of assurance’. In line with the golden thread, this demonstrates complete traceability with regard to the complete fire glass supply chain, from raw material sourcing, through manufacture and processing to installation.

Fire glass specialist Promat UK has pulled out all the stops to help an interior design and build contractor to successfully complete an office fit-out scheme in Sheffield on time, meeting the tightest of client deadlines at its busiest time of the year.

More than 50 sq. m of Promat Systemglas Ligna timber framed fire resistant glazing was manufactured in two-thirds of the usual timeframe for an office refurbishment project by Ovo Spaces in Sheffield city centre. This rapid response meant Promat UK was tasked with

reducing its usual lead time from six weeks to just four.

Working in conjunction with Promat Systemglas approved installer Rated Solutions, the team was able to provide EI30 fire resistant glazing which took the form of four large screens, two of which featured doors, with each measuring 6000mm wide by nearly 3000mm high. This was used over four floors to securely enclose a lightwell which had been installed to provide additional light throughout the building.

The Promat team ensured the

Ovo Spaces were issued with a project-specific Certificate of Conformity which can be shared with their clients, who were delighted with the end result.

Cath McLean, segment manager – glass at Promat UK added: “We pride ourselves on going the extra mile for our clients and we will always do our best to help find a solution even in the most challenging of circumstances. When we were approached by Ovo Spaces, we were already very busy fulfilling existing orders during our peak period of the year, but we knew we could work with them to find a solution to meet their client’s deadline.”

https://bit.ly/3ZHxW6T

Two-Week Extension

With Hup!

Homeowners Sarah and Steven had an old, unloved conservatory that was in urgent need of attention. It had become little more than a dumping ground that was permanently closed off from the rest of their home and the couple wanted to create a new open plan space that could be used all year round. When looking at the traditional build route, things always seemed too complicated

and expensive. However, that changed when they came across the hup! building system.

The system offered the perfect solution to all of the things associated with a traditional build that had put them off, such as spiralling costs, weather delays, too many trades to coordinate, long build times, lots of strangers in their home, mess and disruption – the list goes on.

Ultraframe says hup! builds are carried out by one small team, with Building Regulation red tape taken care of, and a superfast build (five times faster than building with bricks and mortar) that is not affected by adverse weather. Costs are confirmed at the point of order and because hup! is pre-manufactured offsite, there is minimal mess and disruption. Ultraframe also adds that as hup! is so light, it is often possible to use an existing base which is what Sarah & Steven chose to do, saving time and money.

Once the build began, the core structure of walls and roof was in place by the end of day one and the structure was watertight by day three. The new lean-to

Ultraroof was glazed with two full length glazed panels that bring in so much more natural light than the old polycarbonate roof and coupled with the large bi-fold door and full-length window, the couple’s light filled dream really started to take shape. The build continued to move quickly with the same small hup! team carrying out the electrical and other works and the entire project from start to finish was fully completed in just 14 days.

Commenting about their experience of a hup! build, Sarah said: “We knew that building with hup! is fast but seeing the build happen in just a few days was amazing. We couldn’t believe how warm it was – even before our radiator was fitted it was already as warm as the

rest of our home! We removed the doors that used to separate the old conservatory from our kitchen and are delighted that we now have a stunning open plan extension that will totally change how we live in our home.”

undertook the build as their first ever hup! are equally delighted with the ease and results of using hup! for a transformation, with director, Grant Proctor, commenting: “Now that I’ve discovered hup! I can’t wait to ditch my trowel!”

https://bit.ly/41PWVXj

MI Construction NW who

Sarah and Steven’s old, unloved conservatory

CDW Systems

Helps Total Aluminium Systems With Big School Window Project

Aluminium fabricator CDW Systems helped long standing customer Total Aluminium Systems with a school project that required more than 200 windows.

The Taunton-based installer and fabricator needed 207 windows for a refurbishment project at Wadham School in Crewkerne, Somerset.

With additional students and staff joining the school at the beginning of the academic year last September, the school

decided on the programme to replace its windows, with Total Aluminium carrying out the installation while making sure they caused minimum disruption to students learning.

Total Aluminium Systems has worked with CDW Systems for more than five years and buy windows, doors, bifolds, and commercial and residential doors – and for this project they chose Technal Dualframe windows.

Daniel Sparks, Total Aluminium Systems’ director said: “We

needed a durable, high use window for the Wadham refurbishment project and Dualframe was the perfect window solution.

“The team at CDW were very helpful with advice and support on what window profile to use to suit all our needs, with Dualframe being easy to fabricate and install. We had six months to complete the project and we had around 10 deliveries split into phases over three blocks, which CDW were a great help with.”

The family run company, which operates mainly in the South West, has more than 25 years’ experience and predominantly works on commercial projects, carrying out installations for both new build and refurbishment projects.

And, according to Daniel, CDW

Systems has proved the perfect manufacturer and supplier: “The relationship is good for us due to the reliability of CDW and their ability to supply larger quantities with decent lead times. We are a more compact fabricator and installer, so it works well.”

Jeremy Phillips, CDW Systems’ group chairman, said: “Technal Dualframe windows were a reliable, cost effective, robust solution and Total Aluminium have done a fantastic job on Wadham School.

“We have always been committed to being far more than a trade supplier; like all our customers, Total Aluminium are valued partners and we were delighted to supply them with both top quality products and the support they needed.”

www.cdwsystems.co.uk

Granada’s

Secondary Glazing Helps Reduce Welfare Centre’s Heating Needs

Installing Granada Glazing’s secondary glazing system has delivered a significant saving in energy costs for a North Derbyshire welfare centre by reducing heating needs by two thirds, as well as eliminating external noise intrusion, claims the company.

All the windows at the Muslim Welfare Association’s Grade II listed building in Chesterfield are original and single glazed, which provided little thermal insulation for users of the facility and allowed noise from a neighbouring factory to enter the rooms.

The building’s owner contacted Bakewell-based Brocklehurst Property Maintenance Ltd, one of Granada Glazing’s trade partners to discuss options, suitable treatments and fit a total of 59 units.

A combination of horizontal sliding units and arched units were installed. All have Low-E glass with a special coating that reflects heat back into the rooms as the main aim was to make the building warmer. Some windows feature

an arched unit stacked over a horizontal sliding unit, while others were treated with two horizontal sliding units one above the other.

Duncan Brocklehurst, managing director of conservation and renovation specialists Brocklehurst Property Maintenance explains: “We were approached initially by the property owner to help keep the building warm in the face of rising energy bills. The building is listed and its old, steel windows were simply not performing either thermally or acoustically. In addition to the issues around heat retention, the customer was also experiencing excessive levels of external noise from a nearby factory, which proved particularly challenging during prayer sessions.

“The products that Granada supplied have ultimately helped to rectify both issues. The factory noise is now not noticeable at all, and the customer is able to run their heating for just one third the amount of time they were previously. It’s been a massive financial saving.” www.gsecg.com

Homeowners ‘Big Up’ Hup!

Ultraframe has launched two hup! homeowner testimonial videos to explain the many benefits of choosing hup! to other homeowners wanting to extend their homes. The videos are available free of charge to hup! builders for use on websites and social channels and can also be viewed on the Ultraframe consumer website.

Lucy’s hup! story tells the tale of a new build hup! extension which was added to Lucy’s home to create a large open plan kitchen and socialising space. Lucy explains how the process of choosing and building the hup! extension was far simpler than they would have expected with a traditional build and how they are delighted with the

resulting new multi-purpose space. Ultraframe marketing director, Alex Hewitt also features in the video, explaining about the technology within the revolutionary system.

Sarah’s hup! story features homeowner Sarah, explaining how her and her partner transformed their unloved and unused conservatory into a modern open plan extension that is now the heart of their home. Sarah was absolutely delighted that they had not just replaced the roof as they now have an open plan extension in barely any more time than it would have taken to replace the roof. She goes on to explain that using the hup! system meant that their new space was watertight in just

two days and how they can’t believe the warmth of the room. For builder Grant Proctor of MI Construction NW, this was the company’s first ever hup! build and he explains the ease of building with the system – even saying he can’t wait to ditch his trowel now he has discovered hup!

hup! was designed to overcome the common concerns that homeowners often have before undertaking projects such as Lucy and Sarah’s, including managing numerous different tradespeople on site, escalating budgets, unforeseen weather delays, and the mess and disruption that traditional building work creates in and around the home.

The videos are the latest additions to the hup! support package and are available free of charge by contacting the Ultraframe marketing team (marketing@ultraframe.co.uk).

To view the videos on the Ultraframe consumer website, https://bit.ly/3J71R1p

Aluminium supplier Direct Trade Windows has launched a new website, enabling its trade customers to have full access to information about the products and services the company has to offer.

Director AJ Hassanali comments: “Despite the challenges facing the industry and the economy as a whole, Direct Trade Windows has seen a record breaking past 12 months, thanks to an increased demand for premium products, which is matched by our outstanding product range and unrivalled customer support.

“We wanted to showcase this by launching our new innovative and user-friendly website, enabling both existing and potential customers to easily

Direct Trade Windows Launches New Website

tools behind it are incredibly valuable in helping us identify our customers, how they found us, and what they’re looking for – and using this information to adapt the business and maximise on potential sales.

view our full offering, as well as the main principles we stand by in order to deliver the best service possible.

“From our point of view, the new website and the analytic

Epwin Window Systems Launches New Suite Of Trade Literature

Epwin Window Systems has launched a new suite of trade marketing literature across its comprehensive range of PVC-U window and door systems. The twelve new brochures provide fabricators with informative product information and inspiring new imagery to demonstrate the architectural scope of their multi-system offering.

Commenting on the introduction of the new brochures, Gerald Allen, head of marketing at Epwin Window Systems, said: “Our new trade literature showcases the breadth and strength of our multiple PVC-U systems and highlights the quality each

“With the new website, we hope our valued customers will see the benefits of coming to Direct Trade Windows, and in turn, we promise to deliver the high-quality products and great service that our customers expect.”

www.directtradewindows.co.uk

system offers. Whilst the trade brochure collection has a uniform identity, we are home to some of the best-known systems in the sector, so each brochure has been purposely designed to highlight its own system strengths and brand characteristics.”

Within this new brochure portfolio is the popular 70mm Spectus System with a choice of bevelled or ovolo options, along with the award-winning 70mm PVC-U Optima Window and Door System which is available in chamfered and sculptured variations. Also available is the Flush Tilt & Turn Window System, Fully Reversible Window System, Flush Casement Window System, Composite Door Frame System, Two-Part Cill, Curtain Walling System and the heritage-favourite PVC-U Vertical Sliding Sash System. Completing the line up is the PatioMaster PVC-U Sliding Patio Door System.

Gerald commented: “Whilst each of the brochures presents the technical and design excellence of each system, it also focusses on the advantages of working with Epwin Window Systems, the UK’s largest systems house. These include design flexibility, industry-leading innovation, impressive thermal efficiency, future-proofed performance and a longstanding commitment to sustainability.”

The brochures are available upon request from ready@epwinwindowsystems.co.uk or can be downloaded from the company’s Connect digital resource platform.

www.epwinwindowsystems.co.uk

Builders’ Merchants

Monthly Omnibus Survey: What Has Changed Since Grenfell?

New questions in December’s Builders’ Merchants Monthly Omnibus Survey reveal how builders’ merchants and their trade customers have changed the products they buy, and the advice they give or seek since the Grenfell fire.

MRA Research says its new Builders’ Merchants Monthly Omnibus Survey offers companies marketing to builders’ merchants and their customers a costeffective, fast-turnaround insight tool. Suppliers and others can buy as few or as many questions

as required with a perfectly weighted national sample, and get results in as little as two weeks, to improve their marketing. MRA Research added three questions in December’s Omnibus on Grenfell and the responses from the industry as a taster to show what an Omnibus can do.

In the past five and a half years, the Inquiry into the devasting Grenfell fire exposed much that needs to change at every level across construction. A Code for Construction Product Information (CCPI) followed, and more changes are expected. Nevertheless, major

housebuilders and Government are still at loggerheads over the costs and responsibility for cladding removal.

The Omnibus survey revealed that one in four merchants think Grenfell has changed attitudes in construction to fire safety and the way we build. However, 74% of builders’ merchants believe that little to nothing has changed practically since Grenfell shocked the nation.

Twenty two percent of merchants say they have changed the products they sell or the information and advice they give customers to help them build more safely following Grenfell.

But just 15% of merchants say their trade customers have changed the products they buy, the advice they seek or the way they build following Grenfell and the new CCPI.

Mike Rigby, CEO of MRA Research, says: “The Grenfell fire has barely been out of the news since June 2017, but while there has been much talk of change, there’s been little practical action. Peter Apps’ recently-published book Show Me the Bodies: How We Let Grenfell Happen is a really important contribution from someone who knows the industry from the inside and it’s a sobering, powerful and informative read into the tragedy and an indication of what must change.

“The questions we added to the Builders’ Merchants Monthly Omnibus Survey revealed what has changed in the industry since the fire almost six years ago.” Visit www.mra-research.co.uk/the-pulse to see the findings.

For information about the Builders Merchants’ Monthly Omnibus Survey call MRA Research’s project director Yvette Kirk on 07918 272936 or email yvette@ mra-research.co.uk

Vista Revamps XtremeDoor Website

After marking 10 years of the XtremeDoor brand, Vista Panels has given its dedicated website a timely makeover, giving customers easy access to information about the full range of doors on offer and improving customer experience across all platforms.

The revamped XtremeDoor website has been built specifically to help homeowners quickly find the door style best suited to their property.

Ian Smith, Vista’s business development and marketing manager, explains: “Most customers will have already decided whether they are after a traditional looking door or something a bit more modern or contemporary. The new website’s functionality is to quickly direct them down one of those paths, leading them to a wide range of door designs that will help them make an informed decision.

“The new website benefits from 10 years of customers sharing their photos via social media platforms in a new comprehensive inspiration gallery – while brochure images are

great, there’s nothing better than real images of installed doors to get a real idea of how different colours and styles work in situ against different property types.”

Central to the new website is the popular door designer tool which allows homeowners to easily design a door and share it with family and friends, or more importantly the installer if they have directed them to the website.

Alternatively, if the homeowner has found the website through web browser searches, Vista will then put them in touch with one of its recommended installation companies who are in all corners of the UK.

Additionally, the website houses useful videos as well as content from Vista’s in-house social media influencer which explores current door trends.

Ian concludes: “Ultimately, the relaunched XtremeDoor website has been designed as an additional sales tool for our network of customers.

www.xtremedoor.co.uk

AluK Goes Virtual

AluK has launched a virtual tour of its impressive Chepstow showroom – giving trade and retail customers the opportunity to see the complete AluK product range on screen.

The tour is available to view via the trade and retail websites at: https://bit.ly/3KXvGEt. Online visitors navigate around the showroom just by following the on-screen arrows and then click wherever they see an information symbol to access full details of individual products, and a demo from one of the AluK

Following a highly successful launch at last year’s FIT Show and a year of establishing a nationwide dealer network, Gerda Residential Doors has launched a brand-new UK specific website through which British homeowners can specify products developed specifically for the UK market.

Pioneer Trading, exclusive distributor for Gerda in the UK, used the FIT Show to launch the range of Gerda steel and aluminium front entrance doors. Describing the doors as stylish, elegant and with an emphasis on high security with superior thermal performance across all of its products, Pioneer Trading says Gerda Doors are superbly engineered using the finest steel and aluminium door construction techniques. Pioneer adds that with high performance levels and unique construction methods and materials, Gerda Doors are an effective alternative to conventional composite doors.

team.

Antoniya Stoycheva, AluK’s digital marketing and communications manager said the tour is set to become a key part of AluK’s support package for customers: “We get great feedback from anyone who visits our showrooms here in Chepstow and at our Design Studio in London in real life, so I know this will be a really popular addition to the website.

“We’ve replicated the visitor experience as closely as possible, and even included extra options such as downloadable datasheets on all the products featured.”

The virtual tour includes iconic AluK products such as the BSF70 bifold, the F82 bifold and the Infinium slider. There are also close ups of all the options in the popular 58BW window and 58BD door systems, as well as the 77IW and C70S window systems.

Trade customers can screen the tour in their own showrooms or as part of remote or in-home sales presentations just by adding a link to the AluK website. They can also of course still arrange in person visits to either of the AluK showrooms for themselves or for installers, developers or homeowners.

Gerda Residential Doors Launches New UK Website

The website offers details of the four key ranges available – Optima, Thermo Premium, Thermo Prime and Altus – and describes each in detail including handles and hardware. A Q&A section offers homeowners advice on Gerda and particularly, why Gerda Doors are different from

any other brand of residential door currently available in the UK.

An extensive photo gallery offers examples to guide homeowners, following which they may find their local Gerda dealer.

www.gerdadoors.co.uk

Epwin Window Systems Publishes New Sustainability Brochure

helps specifiers, contractors, fabricators and installers to meet environmental targets – and give end users low maintenance products that help create thermally efficient homes, says the company.

Epwin Group has recently acquired the British company Poly-Pure Ltd, a leading recycler of post-consumer PVC-U window and door frames. The acquisition means it can take PVC- U window and door frames at the end of their useful life, recycle the PVC-U content, and incorporate the reclaimed material back into new extruded building products manufactured across the Group. Phil said: “This latest Group acquisition fully closes the recycling loop to cover the complete product lifecycle. Plus, like us, Poly-Pure is a UK based company, which means we can proudly say our products are made (and fully recycled) in Britain.”

Epwin Window Systems has published a new sustainability brochure that highlights its environmental commitments throughout the business. Phil Parry, business development director, said: “Here at Epwin Window Systems, sustainability is front and centre across all our business practices. It’s not only the responsible thing to do, but there are clear commercial advantages too because end users increasingly prioritise sustainability in their purchasing decisions.”

The eight-page brochure highlights Epwin Window Systems’ cradle-to-cradle approach to the sustainability of its multiple systems.

Epwin Window Systems is certified to the requirements of BES 6001: Issue 3.0. This demonstrates the company has ensured – and can prove – that its products have been made with constituent materials that have been responsibly sourced.

As further evidence of its sustainability commitment, Epwin Window systems says it was the first UK-based systems company to achieve the VinylPlus product label, the scheme that makes it easy for customers and markets to identify the most sustainable and high-performance PVC-U products.

The company has a zero to landfill policy. Waste management processes are designed to segregate waste at source and all waste from its site is segregated and sent by registered waste carriers for recycling. Waste bar lengths are recycled into RCM (recycled composite material) for use in thermal inserts for outerframes, sashes, transoms and mullions.

In use, all Epwin Window Systems products have been designed to maximise thermal efficiency and meet and exceed regulatory requirements. This

Phil concluded: “We have a long track record of commitment to the environment. Back in 2009 we were the first UK systems company to offer a 100% recycled window. But our progress to date is just the start. We have well-developed and impactful programmes in place to continue to reduce our carbon footprint and enhance sustainability across all our activities, products and processes. We have aligned our operations to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and are developing an Environmental Social Governance framework and targets. In short, here at Epwin Window Systems we’ve made a commitment to a greener tomorrow.”

The new sustainability brochure is available to download from the company’s Connect digital portal.

epwinwindowsystems.co.uk

A Stellar Win For Capital Windows

Capital Windows of Uxbridge, Greater London has won Epwin Window Systems’ Connect Installation of the Month competition for January for an installation in a palatial fivebedroom detached property project in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire. The project involved fitting 25 Stellar aluminium fully flush casement windows, including a 4.2 metre high, three section bay window, and five sets of Stellar flush doors.

As a result of the winning entry, Capital Windows has won £100 worth of marketing credits to spend on marketing material from Epwin Window Systems, including branded clothing, brochures, point of sale items and bespoke creative design.

Gerald Allen, head of marketing at

Epwin Window Systems, said: “We received an impressive number of installations, but we chose Capital’s project because of the superb finish and obvious care and attention to detail that went into the prestigious domestic project.”

Peter Adams, general manager at Capital Windows, said: “This project showcased the qualities of Stellar to perfection, as well as the skills of our manufacturing team and the first-class installation. Every element of the project was meticulously planned and to showcase the high-quality credentials of the installation, Epwin Window Systems commissioned a professional photographer to site to capture the high-quality finish of the Stellar products. We’re delighted the project has won!”

Capital Windows works with the

domestic, trade and commercial sectors throughout the South East of England and has over 40 years’ experience in designing, supplying and installing the latest generation of technically advanced window and door products. Peter said: “Stellar is a true flush domestic aluminium system that remains popular with our customers. Along with its slim sightlines and the benefit of its knock-in beads, normally only seen on PVC-U windows, it offers the next generation in streamlined aesthetics and clear product differentiators. Every element of the Stellar system has been superbly designed and has allowed us to secure many high-end domestic projects where superior aesthetics are front and centre of the design brief.”

The Installation of the Month competition is a popular feature on Epwin Window Systems’ unique Connect digital platform. Fabricators and installers can submit photos of their best installations for a chance to win marketing credits.

www.epwinwindowsystems.co.uk

Everglade Windows

Named Best Manufacturer For Fifth Time

Win for Shelforce At Inaugural Housing Awards

Window and door manufacturer Shelforce won the ‘Most Significant Service Improvement’ award at the first ever Housing Awards.

Everglade Windows has been named Manufacturing Business of the Year for the fifth time at the 2023 West London Business Awards. One of the most successful ever winners at the event, Everglade Windows now holds seven WLBA trophies, including their five Manufacturing Business titles.

Yogesh Gopal, director at Everglade Windows said: “What an amazing achievement for Everglade Windows! Winning the Manufacturing Business title for the fifth time is such an accolade and testament to the relentless hard work that our team does to deliver certainty to customers.

“Everglade Windows is truly London born and bred, starting our manufacturing journey from a garden shed back in 1980. Now we operate from two state-ofthe-art manufacturing facilities covering an area of 65,000 sq.

ft., delivering more than 1,000 windows and doors every week.”

The awards judges said: “Everglade have invested heavily throughout the pandemic, alongside maintaining a growing customer base. They have retained their profits, perfected their machinery and now burst out into the post-pandemic market set to expand at speed.”

Yogesh added: “It’s always great to walk away with a trophy at the end of the evening, but the West London Business Awards also offer amazing opportunities to network with our fellow West London business leaders.”

The ceremony took place at Twickenham Stadium on Friday 24 February and was hosted by stand-up comedian Rory Bremner.

www.evergladetrade.co.uk

City Housing, part of Birmingham City Council, launched the awards as part of its commitment to culture change and to acknowledge the hard work, successes and achievements of staff and businesses involved in social housing in Birmingham.

Shelforce, which specialises in providing PVCu and aluminium products to local authority building projects, was nominated in the service improvement category, and shortlisted as finalists alongside two others.

The company was chosen as the winner due to its diverse and inclusive workforce, who understand what needed to be successful to create an environment in which they are able to lead, innovate and use their skills to drive and improve the business. That team approach helped drive financial improvement from a £1.8 million pressure in 2014 to profit/surplus within 4 years, with the company on course for record turnover this year.

www.shelforce.com

Manchester PiGs Sets The Sty-le For 2023

Cheers, Chat, Connect is the PiGs theme for 2023 and the first event in Manchester on 23 February brought together more than 200 people from the glazing industry at Revolución de Cuba.

Sarah Ball, PiGs organiser and joint managing director at Balls2 Marketing, says: “It’s been another fantastic event for all of us in the PiGs sty with so many new faces joining the glazing squad, it was brilliant.

“PiGs is designed to bring the whole glazing supply chain

together, from systems companies, fabricators, component suppliers to installers. We welcome everyone with open arms.

“The atmosphere in the room was awesome. In fact, the bar tab ran out at about 8pm – which goes to show how popular the event is. There was still a huge crowd at 10pm and we know that conversations flowed late into the night and there were plenty of after parties at neighbouring bars.”

PiGs has chosen We Mind and Kelly Matters as its charity

for 2023 and displayed their bar runners and beer mats to promote messages around suicide prevention.

Sarah adds: “As ever, I send huge thanks to all our sponsors for their support, without them PiGs would not be possible. We run PiGs as a not-for-profit event and all sponsors’ money is used for the events, food and drink to get the party started. Our Manchester sponsors were: AGC Group, APECS, APS Aluminium & Plastics Systems, Bison Frames UK, Business Pilot, CiiLOCK Engineering, Comp Door, EasyVent, Edgetech UK, Emplas Window Systems, Eurocell, Extrudaseal, FIT Show, Gemini UPVC, Geocel, Georgian Bar Company, Glazerite UK, Glazpart, KUBU, Morley Glass & Glazing,

Quickslide, RegaLead, Regency Glass, Reynaers Aluminium, Selecta Systems, Solidcore Composite Doors, SupaLite Tiled Roof Systems, Thermoseal Group, UK Doors Online, Unique Window Systems, VEKA UK and Window Ware.”

The evening was a great success and now we’re looking ahead to FIT Show with the PiGs Pavilion! We’ll be releasing more details soon about our sponsorship packages on our emails and socials.

Anyone wanting more information about attending, sponsoring or getting involved with the PiGs Pavilion at FIT Show can contact PiGs organiser Sarah Ball on 07540 049655 or email sarah@balls2marketing.co.uk

Carl F Groupco To Sponsor Glazing Summit For Third Consecutive Year

Independent hardware distributor Carl F Groupco has announced it is to sponsor the Glazing Summit for the third consecutive year.

John Crittenden, managing director of Carl F Groupco, said: “We are delighted to be sponsoring the Glazing Summit again this year. The event attracts an extremely high calibre of people from across the industry because it’s a great opportunity to discuss the issues that matter in a safe space.”

This year’s Glazing Summit will be held on 12 October at the Edgbaston Stadium and Conference Centre, Birmingham. It will be the industry’s biggest ever conference and will attract over 400 leaders from across the glass and glazing industry with combined UK sales of over £2 billion.

John commented: “From tackling the supply-chain crisis and labour shortages to threats from upcoming regulatory changes, the industry

is facing unprecedented challenge post-Brexit and postpandemic. The safe space of the Glazing Summit is the perfect opportunity to map out the future of the industry.”

Andrew Scott, founder of the Glazing Summit, said: “The Glazing Summit aims to inform, inspire and raise standards across the fenestration industry, and it is great to have a worldclass company such as Carl F Groupco share these values and support this year’s Conference.”

The day will consider seven major industry topics and attendees will hear from 24 expert speakers. It ends with a Gala Dinner, which provides the perfect finish to a day of discussion and debate. John said: “We’ve attended the Glazing Summit every year since 2018 so we know first-hand know how valuable the sessions are. I have no hesitation in saying it will be the same again this year.” www.carlfgroupco.co.uk

B2B Takes On New Meaning In Cancer Charity Challenge

door system and Korniche lantern roof on display and for demonstration to customers, this year Made For Trade will also showcase a podium for the first time on Stand Q11, which will be a display piece for Chris and Leigh’s bikes to raise awareness and generate donations for Cancer Research UK.

In May 2023, B2B will take on a new meaning altogether for Made For Trade, as operations director Chris Wann and business development manager Leigh Greenwood partner up to make the journey from Billingham to Birmingham by pedal power alone, all in support of Cancer Research UK.

Dubbed ‘FASTER 2 FIT’, the trek will see the duo ride from a start line at MFT’s Northeastern HQ to the National Exhibition Centre in the West Midlands on Monday 22nd May.

Setting off at dawn with the aim of approaching their destination by 5pm on the same day, the pair will arrive just in time for the opening of FIT Show 2023 at the Birmingham NEC the next morning, on Tuesday 23rd May. The 200-mile ordeal will certainly test the FIT-ness of the MFT staff, and the time pressure is on to complete the journey before setup doors close on the Monday evening, since the two bikes are set to form an intrinsic part of the MFT display.

Alongside the Korniche bi-folding

The branded podium will detail the full challenge backstory, along with current sponsors and a prominent QR code intended to encourage as many attendees as possible to scan and donate for the three-day duration of the 2023 exhibition.

Speaking of FASTER 2 FIT, MFT’s operations director, Chris Wann, said: “The incredible work done by Cancer Research relies heavily on fundraising and donations, and when it comes to the fenestration world, there is no better place to highlight the industry’s community and generosity than at the FIT Show. Being able to take on this challenge allows us to raise vital funds in the fight against cancer.”

To support Chris and Leigh visit: https://bit.ly/3ynuPVP

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