ISSUE NO.15 Spring 2005
new faces From his first week's appointments, Andy Miller, our new Area Sales Manager, has signed up over £800,000. “I hadn't sat in front of that much potential business in the whole of last year,” explains Andy, who recently made the move to Synseal from another leading profile company. “With Synseal you roof, and bar lengths. Even the sample bags are designed well, and it all comes together to make my job easier. In my experience Synseal's product and support are simply the best in the market. Profile sales is a serious business.
£800,000 sales from new area sales manager in first week
synseal launches synerJy at glassex
Gone are the days when you just drop in for a coffee and chat. Fabricators like to deal with business people. The professionalism of Synseal is second to none. I am really
You won't miss us at Glassex -
impressed with all the products. Everything is made in
we're right by the entrance at
house and fits together perfectly. My first customer came
stand B070, as you'd expect from a
on board on my first day, and from my first week's appointments have sold over £800,000.”
fast growing systems company
Birthdays are times for celebrations and both Glassex and Synseal are 25 this
with serious ambitions to be No 1.
year. The advance publicity for Glassex suggests it could be their best year yet.
We're expecting Glassex 2005 to be the busiest ever. SynerJy, the
Dave Jackson, new area Sales Manager for Global, has landed a £250,000 contract on only his second day with us! Coming from another
large
conservatory
roof
company
y birthd p p a a h
y
get the whole package: the window, gasket, conservatory
the S Y N times the S E A L times
first complete fourth generation system that integrates windows,
Dave
It could be our best year too. Conservatory sales are up over 38% on year to date figures compared with last year. Others may complain about a stagnant or falling market but our sales, thanks to our customers' success, are soaring.
comments: “I didn't bring on an account of this size in the
doors, patios and conservatories,
In windows market forecasts make depressing reading. The recent
last 12 months I was with my previous employer. I knew
has already started causing a stir.
demise of Premier has shocked the market and many expect a rocky
it was time to make a career change, and Synseal was the
The official launch at Glassex will
obvious choice. I had come across it so many times. The
year ahead. But the timing of the launch of SynerJy could not have been better to give customers the tools they need to maintain their growth,
Global system is the best on the market and the sales
reveal the elegant sculptured
come what may. SynerJy is the first complete 4th generation system
support is second to none. After a phenomenal induction
system. One key benefit is a single
that seamlessly integrates windows, doors, patios and conservatories.
leg, or 'J' bead that just knocks in,
high praise: “It's well designed, the quality is outstanding and it's serious
week I started my sales calls on Monday. My first call was so impressed, he made a four hour round trip to visit the Synseal factory on Tuesday afternoon. When he arrived his costings had already been prepared, so he had all the information required to make a decision to choose Global there and then. Synseal is the most proactive company
New recruit sells £250,000 of Global on second day in the job
competition for other premium systems. Synseal has an enviable reputation and we'll be trading off the Synseal name.”
lot more than that, so come and see for yourselves!
The enthusiastic response from our customers is what we expected after all we designed it around our customers' feedback - but the uptake
I've ever worked with. The speed of reaction to customers
in the first six weeks has been unprecedented. So we are gearing
is amazing. It's a totally different culture.”
ourselves up for a massive response to the official launch at Glassex. The Glassex Exhibition is the best opportunity to showcase new products, giving everyone the chance to see what we have to offer in both Nick Dutton, Sales & Marketing Director
windows and conservatories.
There have been many changes in the last 25 years and we have been fortunate to play our part in this. The rise of
for another large conservatory company but Synseal's
conservatories has been central to our success in the past few years but we won't be resting on our laurels. We'll take a
name kept coming up as a company that was moving
moment to reflect on the past, but with the launch of SynerJy and some exciting new conservatory products, we're
forward,” explains Steve. “Working on the support side,
looking forward to strong growth in the next 25.
I'm out and about most of the time and I can see what's
Steve Redman, Event Manager for Glassex: “Glassex virtually traces the development of the window, door and conservatory industry over the last 25 years, presenting an annual, physical reminder of the evolution of products, methods and indeed people.”
Jeff Walsh of Pearl Windows (see page 2 for the full story) gave SynerJy
simplifying installation. There's a
Steve Marshall has recently joined Synseal as Systems Support Manager. “I used to work
double silver jubilee celebrations for synseal and glassex
The timeline in this newsletter shows Synseal's contribution to the development of the market in the same period.
really happening in the market. Over the last year, I've witnessed a large number of fabricators switching to of my key customers to Synseal last year. That's why I'm
new systems support manager for synseal
delighted to be part of the team.” Steve has over seven years experience in Systems Support. His new role will see him travelling the country and setting up new systems for Synseal customers.
SYNSEAL EXTRUSIONS LIMITED, COMMON ROAD, HUTHWAITE, NOTTS. NG17 6AD
TEL:
01623 443 200
email:
sales@synseal.com
FAX:
01623 550 243
www.synseal.com
© Synseal Extrusions Limited 2005
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If you would like extra copies of The Synseal Times for your sales teams, showrooms etc. Call Phil Else on 01623 443 200
visit us at glassex and see for yourself our latest developments
rs to ct ries w s s
Nick Dutton.
Synseal while other companies were losing out. I lost one
e u m d o t s pro e u c n
the
times heavy duty hip glazing bars The introduction of the XT4 heavy duty glazing bar, capable of 4m spans at 800mm centres without bolsters or expensive steel inserts, was a resounding success at the end of 2004.
We've now progressed this concept onto the hip bar, XGH4. One simple, single solution reduces cost, fabrication and installation time and creates a better looking conservatory. In one stroke we've hit the top four reasons for product development.
1994
synseal puts quality under the microscope and sets lead in quality testing
£3 million invested in chemical mixing plant to control quality and even out erratic compound cost changes.
1995 The Trade Division sells over 2000 trade window frames
Microtome - cuts very fine slivers of profile
“Inconsistent quality profile is a problem for many fabricators,” says Gareth Edwards, Commercial Director. “In all sectors,
The XGH4 will be launched at Glassex this year - it's yet another example of our commitment to producing conservatory products that achieve maximum results. Everybody benefits. Compromising is for other companies.
week. To avoid competing
consistency ranks high as an issue fabricators would like addressed. The
with profile customers the
effects of inconsistent quality can be disruptive and costly for fabricators.
Trade Division is sold to JBS
There are prescribed quality tests, and good practice also requires fabricators
Industries (now known as
to bring profile into the factory 24 hours to warm up before cutting. Yet
Consort) in December 1995
inconsistent profile quality is still a common complaint with many systems.
XGH4 - Hip Bar
and 50-60 conservatories a
Profiles that chip in the saw and 'judder' in the corner cleaner, for example,
1996
are signs that all is not right.
Gareth Edwards
“In theory, good extrusion machinery and
and consistent the plastification is, the better the
tooling, skilled and careful processing and
performance of profile in the factory.
With ever increasing demand for Gable style conservatories we have taken the step of developing a new seamless and simple Gable support product. It uses the same eaves beam, gutter system, and claddings as
extrusion should ensure consistent quality profile.
“Synseal carries out additional tests to ensure the
But often it doesn't, and poor plastification is to
plastification process is optimised. We do all the
months it attracts 100
blame. If you take a very fine slice or sliver of poor
other standard quality tests, of course, but we go
fabricators, and still holds a
the rest of the conservatory. Using our recently established in-house injection moulding plant we have incorporated a specifically designed 'corner wedge' to make fabrication of the gable frame easier, by removing the need to weld a triangle down to a 0mm point. Because the moulding is made in house, it matches perfectly with the rest of the conservatory as every visible element of our conservatory is produced from the same in house formulation - not mixed and matched from different companies around the country.
quality extruded profile and look at it under the
one better to make sure our profile is the best
strong market presence
The Gable support system enhances the structural stability of the entire building while enabling the gutter to run across the front of the gable side. This cuts the number of outlets and soakaway routes required in half.
The Gable support system will come as standard on all of our conservatory kits from April. Stronger, easier and quicker to install, and better looking, it's a system with all the solutions.
great gable support
microscope you will see large white
there is. We use a microtome to cut
craters all over the place. These
very
craters, somewhat like the holes in
microscope and a camera to record
an aero chocolate bar, are the result
the results and check for material
of impurities and excess gases
consistency. It isn't cheap to do, and
produced
extrusion
as far as we know we are the only
processing temperature is not
systems company to go this extra
system takes the market by
correct. Too many, and too large
mile. We do it to ensure that,
storm.
craters, and the profile has a
whatever other fabricators have to
tendency to chip or judder under a
put up with, Synseal fabricators
cutting blade. Good processed
consistently get the best quality
material is even, with as few white
profile.”
when
the
craters as possible. The more even
fine
slivers
of
profile,
Shadowgraph
are fed through a conveyor, and then shrink-wrapped to ensure that customers receive the goods in perfect condition every time. Heating up to temperatures of 215 ˚C, the machine can wrap 75 pieces of polycarbonate an hour. Steve Musgrave, Production Director, explains the benefits: “It's so much better than the old system. As well as being safer, it improves the speed and efficiency of the wrapping process. We're anticipating such demand in the spring that investing in this machine was a necessity.”
today.
a
1999 The new 70mm Shield
2001 The patio door system is independently verified as
hot new wrapping machine for synseal Synseal has invested in a new, fully automated polycarbonate wrapping machine, costing over £100,000. Polycarbonate sheets
Silhouette window profile system launched. Within 6
the best system on the market. More fabricators in
critical conservatory information imminent
As part of our marketing support package, Synseal customers should shortly be receiving new, upgraded literature and data on all the enhancements we've been making to our conservatory systems. Structural information and deductions will change as a result of these enhancements, so the information should be acted upon as soon as it arrives. The developments - mentioned in this newsletter are due to be unveiled on the first of April this year, so make sure your customer know all about them too!
Great Britain use Synseal profile than any other profile available on the market - again independently verified. A 207,000 square feet factory is purchased to cope with the anticipated demand for the new conservatory product.
Nick Dutton, Sales & Marketing Director of Synseal Extrusions questions the usefulness of some traditional terminology and proposes a new way of categorising the window systems market.
sales up 10% for acorn frames by adding global
NICK’S IN THE CHAIR
1980 Synseal founded as a direct sell and fit PVC-U
Acorn Frames has added the Global
Great Wine in new bottles
one stop shopping centre for its nationwide base of customers. Jaz Singh and Justin Bromley, Partners at Acorn Frames,
Every day, in Grimm's fairy tale of Snow White and the seven dwarfs, the wicked stepmother used to look in her magic mirror for reassurance, and ask: “Mirror, mirror on the wall who is the fairest of them all?” Until one day Snow White came of age. The mirror, which couldn't lie, replied that Snow White was the fairest. The wicked stepmother flew into a rage, and hurled her hairbrush at the mirror. It was honest feedback, but she couldn't accept the new reality.
Facing up to reality They say there is no form of flattery so extreme that people will not believe it. We believe what puts us in a good light. Flattery will get you everywhere, the saying goes, and self-flattery is the most seductive. Once we start to believe our own propaganda, the stories we tell others about ourselves to boost our personal status or standing in the market, we're on a slippery slope that leads to crooked thinking and bad decisions. Do it often, or long enough, and the line blurs between fantasy and reality. If facing up to reality is embarrassing, inconvenient, or disadvantageous, we cling to what we want to believe, despite strong evidence to the contrary. The longer it goes on the wider the gap between make believe and solid ground.
The big squeeze Once upon a time, in the eyes of fabricators, there was a clear structure in the profile market. At the top, there were established premium brands at very high prices, at the other, young upstarts selling basic product at low prices. In the middle were several undifferentiated, but respectable brands that sold average products at average prices. According to Reputations Plus, whose annual Benchmark surveys have reported for ten years on the ups and downs, and the positioning of systems companies in the market, the boundaries between premium, middle and budget have blurred. Premium companies have been forced to price more aggressively, while budget companies have developed and changed, offering the product
glass age/2005
specification, quality, service and support that were once the domain of premium brands. Those in the middle got squeezed, as product specifications converged between the sectors. They found it hard to project a clear identity in the minds of fabricators. And it's what fabricators think that counts. It's their perceptions that make one brand 'premium', another 'budget', no matter what a particular company would like to be. And fabricators have found it harder to do this. It hasn't broken down entirely, and there are some brands which haven't changed, locked in yesterday's segmentation. But the very words premium, middle and budget are losing their meaning in window systems.
Preconceptions of price and provenance Product convergence and blurring of categories is not happening everywhere. The words still mean something in the car market, where most people see BMW as a premium price-quality brand and Proton, for example, as a budget brand. But a wine tasting in Berlin last year made the news when a group of professional wine tasters put two Cabernet Sauvignon-based Chilean reds, the 2000 Viñedo Chadwick and the 2001 Seña costing less than £50 a bottle, ahead of three Bordeaux first growths, and four Super Tuscan reds costing up to and over £300 a bottle. In the wine tasting world this was earth shattering. How could two new wines topple the likes of Margaux, Lafite and Latour? Was it a fluke? Were they comparing like with like? It wasn't the first time these two wines had done well, and the tasters were highly regarded, and mostly European, so the test wasn't rigged. In fact the tasting was conducted blind, and therefore completely above board, and the two Chileans were up against some of the greatest wines ever. The tasting produced a storm, and a belated recognition that the centre of gravity in the wine world had shifted. The point about the blind tasting was to focus on what people
Nick Dutton, Synseal’s Sales and Marketing Director
comment:
“It's
great
for
taste in the bottle, rather than being influenced by preconceived ideas of price and provenance. It proved that beautiful wines could be made in places other than France. Perceptions had lagged behind reality, and it took a blind product tasting to get even professional tasters to consider the products on their merits.
installers. We make sure they've got
Setting the highest standards
for our windows and doors too. Installers
In the last fifteen years, things have moved on in window systems too. Some brands have disappeared, and a few old names are not what they were. Most are good quality, but that isn't generally the issue. Product specification has progressed dramatically over the years, and some new systems are setting the highest standards and redefining what a system should be in today's market. Because conservatories are so important to fabricators now, I believe that window systems that do not take conservatories into account are not truly viable. They are incomplete and cannot properly be supported and completed with another manufacturer's conservatory system, even if one or two tailored sections are supplied to zip them together. It never looks right.
is quick to fabricate and the technical
The first complete system Synerjy, Synseal's new window system, is the first complete 4th generation system, and one that has been shaped by a whole new design philosophy. The result is a system that seamlessly integrates windows, doors, patios and conservatories. It's too soon to tell how fabricators will categorise such new systems. We will probably have to wait until there are other complete systems competing on the same ground before fabricators are able to compare one against another.
window operation.
roof system to make the company a
everything they need and deliver it straight to site. We fabricate 1000 frames a week and by adding Global our window sales have increased by 10%. Making top quality roofs means we get more orders
like the Global roof because it's easy to install and the quality is excellent. Global
service Synseal provide to go with it is superb.”
new customer support for direct trade Direct Trade (Yorkshire) Ltd has been fabricating Global since mid December. Steve Green, Director, explains why they made the change: “We'd been up to Synseal's factory and were very impressed. We wanted a roof that was in touch with the market and Global fits the bill. At the beginning of November EVie, the state of the art exhibition vehicle, came to us. We were able to show our staff how the roof went together. Because EVie has both whole and part roofs it makes it easy to see clearly the fabrication and installation benefits.
changes to global “In a short space of time the Global roof system has made a dramatic impact on the conservatory roof market,” comments Mark Davies, Sales and Marketing Manager of Abcell Ltd. “We asked our previous supplier for support but what was offered fell short of what we and our customers needed. We took the opportunity to investigate other suppliers and found there was no competition to the Global roof system. All our criteria had to be met before changing and Global exceeded these on every count. It's a fully configurable roof with BBA accreditation. It's easy to fabricate, fitter friendly and fast to install. Global has a comprehensive retail marketing support package and it is price competitive. We asked a selection of our customers what they thought. They all agreed Global was the way forward. We recognised the importance of supporting our customers to give them the best opportunity to win orders. That's why we've changed to Global.”
1981 Synseal starts fabricating.
1985 Trade division set up to supply the local trade. Soon expands into a nationwide operation.
1990 Make 1200 domestic and trade windows a week.
Paul Ford (Abcell’s owner) with Kevin Harvey (Synseal’s Director of Sales)
“We make 25 roofs a week. Our existing customers are very happy with Global and since we've changed we've already won new customers. Last time EVie came it was just for our employees - but we were so impressed we've booked another visit - this time for our customers”
Develop own tooling, extruded for us, later known as the Contour suite.
1991 Exits retail and concentrates solely on the trade sector to avoid competing with trade customers.
Mick Bowley and Steve Green of Direct Trade inspect the global roof
1992 First extrusion line is set up in Sutton in Ashfield,
Further information: Nick Dutton at Synseal 01623 443200. Synseal's new system can be seen at www.synerjyprofile.co.uk
in the positioning of systems companies in the market, the boundaries between premium, middle and budget have blurred.
Nottinghamshire. The extrusion company supplies profile directly to window fabricators.
synseal's chairman is a top industry entrepreneur Management Today's Top 100 Entrepreneurs List includes Gary Dutton, Chairman of
“SynerJy is serious competition for other premium systems”
Synseal, as a top Industry Entrepreneur. The January edition of Management Today ranked Gary 23rd, based on Synseal's turnover growth of 200% in five years to £66 million in our latest accounts. The number of employees rose
Bolton based Pearl Window Systems Ltd, who currently manufacture over
183% to 600. To put this performance in
1,100 frames a week, is adding SynerJy, Synseal's new sculptured system,
perspective, Management Today's valuation of
to compliment their existing range of windows and doors.
Synseal at £87 million compares with an
2003 Global Roof launched. It fits any window and door profile system.
Ultraframe plc market capitalisation at the end “We're investing another £300,000 in a new saw centre, due for delivery in
2002 The new Shield conservatory system windows, doors and roof redefines the conservatory market in terms of product, price and distribution. The biggest stand ever taken by a systems company, 594m2, is taken at Glassex 2002
of January of £47.7 million. Gary is ahead of Sir
April. We wanted a new system to increase capacity up to 1,600 frames a week, as well as offering choice to our customers,” explains Jeff Walsh,
Richard Branson who ranked 37. Most of the
2004
Managing Director of Pearl. “Synseal has an enviable reputation and we'll be
top twenty listed are in mobile phones,
trading off the Synseal name. We're confident SynerJy will exceed all
recruitment or entertainment.
Sales of our conservatory systems are well in excess of 1000 conservatories every week. The Shield and Global conservatory product combined approach 20% market share within 3 years of launch, and slip into second place in the market.
expectations. It's well designed, the quality is outstanding and it's serious
Gary Dutton, Chairman of Synseal
competition for other premium systems. It's easy to install utilizing the single leg, knock-in 'j' bead, making it fitter friendly as well as being a good looking system that appeals to the homeowner. This is a comprehensive system from Synseal.”
Jeff Walsh, Managing Director of Pearl Window Systems with Nick Dutton
corby and EVie
neville hangs up his keys! Neville Loveridge is leaving Synseal in April after
Over 150 customers came to visit The Corby Windows Group open days held on 28th and 29th January. A well-known industry name, Corby now manufactures 3000 frames a week from three sites in the West Midlands with a staff of over 300. In preparation for the open day, four manufacturing benches were removed from the factory to make way for 11 display stands. EVie had pride of place outside. There were also pockets of live demonstrations around the factory so every part of the manufacturing process was shown. “We had spent a lot of time in preparation for the day,” explained Jason Wilder, Corby's Managing Director. “We wanted our customers to have the chance to see exactly what we do, and how a high-quality manufacturing process works. That's why we opened up the factory. We were supported by several suppliers including Synseal. At first sight, EVie, the state of the art exhibition vehicle, is impressive. But it's what's inside that makes the difference. Customers can pull out a roof rafter and touch the bolts as well as seeing the finished roof.
Holding and handling the products in the flesh is so different from looking at a spec sheet. We've already had Global roof orders from companies there on the day, which previously had only ever ordered window and door frames. One customer was so impressed he had two roofs on order with another supplier. He cancelled them once he'd seen Global and ordered them from us.
just over 13 years with us. Neville has personally
“The other key purpose of the open day was to cement relationships. Our customers know our drivers and our sales people but are not likely to have met the Customer Service Manager or know who draws up the quotes. This time they got to meet everyone. Each customer was assigned a guide to take them round the site. The senior managers from the other two sites were with us too. I met one customer who I've spoken to many times on the phone but not met in 7 years. We were glad to have Nick Dutton and Neville Loveridge from Synseal with us to discuss the benefits of Global.
Neville has played a key role in our dramatic
sold over £100,000,000 worth of business for Synseal through the years - an outstanding achievement. He worked in the hardware industry before he came to Synseal, for companies like Mila, Wagner and Smith Wallace.
growth. “Currently third largest systems company, Synseal was just going into profile when I joined in 1991. There were only six accounts then, and those were fairly small. I had to increase the accounts pretty much on my own in the beginning: I could be in Scotland one day and who knows where the next! “Because Synseal was and is a forward looking company it started to extrude profile - it didn't want to compete with its customers on any level. With its second machine Synseal began extruding for the whole of the UK, and got into the conservatory roof market with Shield and Global
“The day was frantic and successful. EVie made a difference to winning new conservatory roof business.”
“So much has happened since I've joined Synseal it's grown at an astonishing rate and I'm proud to have been part of that. I've seen the introduction of more and more new innovations from Silhouette to Shield, to the latest with SynerJy” “I always said I'd get out by the time I'm 60, in August. I'm looking forward to more holidays, and I've planned Christmas in Barcelona. I'll be spending as much time as my wife allows in Spain. We own a place there which backs onto a golf course - I used to play 20 years ago and can't wait to take it up again. “Synseal now have over 600 customers - and a fantastic product portfolio. Synseal has kept on innovating, and the UK market can expect even better things in future. I look forward to hearing about the next developments, ideally from the golf course!”
as well.
Neville Loveridge, Area Sales Manager
2005 Synseal launch SynerJy, the first complete 4th generation system that seamlessly integrates windows, doors, patios and conservatories.