new sales support department Conservatory roof fabricators considering switching to Synseal are invited to tour the massive Synseal site in Sutton-in-Ashfield. Although all prospective Synseal fabricators go away impressed by what they’ve seen, many want their installer customers to be involved in the process and co-own the decision to change. Synseal has invested £200,000 in a solution – its new mobile presentation vehicle (EV). The EV is a specially designed vehicle that will be used to present Synseal’s global conservatory roof system in the field, wherever you are. The presentation area inside the vehicle is an astonishing 30 square metres with two additional pods that increase the floor area by a third. The floor space is split into two areas – the showroom and the presentation and meeting area. "We wanted to match the level of presentation we offer at the Synseal site, on the road," explains Kevin H a rv e y, Director of Sales at Synseal. "So the
showroom area displays two roofs – one fully assembled and the other partially assembled to allow customers to get a feel for the ease of installation. It will also feature demonstrations on specific areas of the roof, like the box gutter, jack rafter sections and a choice of gutter systems. To complete the showroom, we’ve added an interactive touch screen with trade and consumer presentations. The presentation and meeting area has a drop screen overhead projector presentation, as well as meeting table and catering facilities. "I’m confident prospects will be blown away by the EV," continues Kevin, "and I think our existing customers will see it as vindication of their decision to purchase a superb product backed by an unrivalled sales and marketing package. It will present prospects with the ability to ‘involve’ their customers in the decision to change roof systems. Their customers’ approval of the product at their premises will galvanise their belief in Synseal and its products."
Synseal is growing at such a rate – it now produces in excess of 1000 conservatory roofs a week, every week – that the systems company has decided its sales team needs some help. "We’ve expanded our staff in line with our growth," explains Kevin Harvey, Director of Sales at Synseal, "and this is the latest department to expand. We decided to create a sales support department to maintain the high level of service our customers are used to. The sales support team is four strong, each member has teamed up with one of our Field Sales Managers to produce a cohesive team support approach for all our customers.
ISSUE NO.12 Summer 2004
SYNSEAL shield and global get BBA
making life easier for customers The shortest, simplest approach to anything is usually a straight line between two points. Why make life complicated, more prone to error and more expensive by going from A to B to C and then on to D, if you can go straight from A to D in one simple step? Business is difficult and expensive enough for most of us without adding to the burden. Long supply chains are bad news. With our new injection moulding plant now in place, I believe we are
The EV will be on the road from September.
the only systems company to manufacture an entire conservatory system, including all the
Everyone benefits from this simplification because by taking control of the entire process, we have more time and freedom to develop new products and the support that backs them up, which makes it easier for our fabricators to do well in their markets. The better we are at this, the more our customers grow. You can see just how busy we’ve been in this edition of the Synseal Times. We’ve created a new look for the newsletter, developed a network of websites, started work on our new mobile presentation vehicle, and new customers continue to join us to improve their sales.
components, ourselves. Nick Dutton. Sales & Marketing Director
second year on track For the second year in succession Synseal appeared in the prestigious fifth annual Profit Track 100 league published in the Sunday Times on the 4th April. Profit Track 100 ranks Britain’s fastest growing unquoted companies by profit growth over the last three years. Synseal is among only 23 companies in the UK who made it to the Top 100 list for the second year in a row. Only nine of the 23 have improved their ranking since last year. Synseal improved most out of those nine, climbing 33 places from 61st last year to 28th in this year’s rankings. Synseal boosted its profits 71% a year from £2.4 million in 2000 to £11.8 million in 2003. Nick Dutton comments: "We’re obviously delighted with the
results which show that we’re supplying the market with BS7950/7413 what it wants. Much of the credit is due to our customers KM 41324 who are growing fast and profitably, winning share from
their competitors. Synseal is focused on continuous improvement in our operations and product development. We’re constantly striving for innovations that add value and remove time and cost for our customers so that everyone along the supply chain gets the margins they deserve. Much of our growth is down to our customers’ growth. Global customers, for example, are doing spectacularly well, winning share from the competition, or winning back share they had lost using other conservatory roofs. Global hasn’t been around long enough to compare sales with the previous year, but we can do it for Shield. On a like-for-like basis we looked at nearly 250 Shield conservatory customers who were buying in the last three months of 2003, and found that they had sold 33.6% more conservatories compared with the same three months of 2002. That’s more than twice as fast as the growth of the conservatory market."
S Y N S E A L EXTRUSIONS LIMITED, COMMON ROAD, HUTHWAITE, NOTTS. NG17 6AD
TEL:
(01623) 443200
email:
sales@synseal.com
FAX:
(01623) 550243
www. s y n s e a l . c o m
It consists of (from left to right) Suky Begana, Jacqui Hodges, Colleen Stocks and Alison Matthews. Their role is to look after existing customers, as well as keep their designated Field Sales Managers’ diar y. Each member of the new team has been well trained, so they can respond efficiently to every incoming call."
For more details see page 7. For online coverage of the BBA tests, visit www.globalroof.co.uk
newsletter facelift Regular readers of The Synseal Times should notice a few changes to this edition. The quarterly newsletter from Synseal is now over three years and 11 issues old, so we thought it was about time to give the publication a face lift. Phil Else, Marketing Manager of Synseal talks us through the changes. "We wanted to give the newsletter a fresh look and a new feel and bring it up to date in its design, to fit in with the rest of our marketing which has evolved in recent years.
If you would like extra copies of The Synseal Times for your sales teams, showrooms etc. Call Phil Else on 01623 443 200
"The newsletter also needed to maintain its appeal across a broader readership. With so much to say, we also recognised the need to extend it to eight pages, rather than six. Each edition will still include the latest company and product news, introductions to new customers and interesting projects or events that are going on. We hope you enjoy the new look newsletter and look forward to your feedback."
over 1000 roofs per week
A relative newcomer to the conservatory roof market, Synseal has demonstrated the power of product innovation to shake up a market.
Growth has been rapid from its entry to the conservatory market in 2002, and Synseal is being seen as a future market leader. Synseal’s
Shield and global roofing systems are now being used in over 1000 conservatories a week. "And these figures aren’t just for one good week," confirms Nick Dutton. "We’re producing 1000 roofs a week, every week. In fact good weeks are now far beyond 1000.
global takes to the road See back page for full story
new injection moulding factory completes the complete conservatory Long supply chains are bad news for any end user. The more hands a product has to pass thr ough, the more costly and cumbersome the route to market.
them, both margins and service can improve. This is something Synseal aims to do. The shorter the route to market, the better for our customers. Now our new injection moulding plant has cut the final supplier out of the chain. So everything you see on the conservatory roof is manufactured by Synseal.
All supply chains are not the same, some are very long so the product costs more – every supplier adds its margin – and the longer the supply chain the greater the possibility for disruption. By eliminating these steps in the chain and middlemen’s margins that go with
"Synseal implements tight quality control procedures throughout every part of the organisation," explains Carl Wilkinson, Injection Moulding Manager. "This is particularly important at the production stage. Bringing the injection moulding in-house, allows
new ridge joint cover Synseal has introduced a new T-Ridge cover moulding to its Shield and global conservatory roofs. Nick Dutton explains the reasoning behind this latest improvement. "We wanted our customers to benefit from additional sealing over 90º ridge joints, because we appreciate that however accurate the mitre cut on the capping the base or frame work only has to be marginally out of square to leave an open butt joint. This open joint then requires silicon – sometimes excessive amounts – to seal the gap and make it look acceptable. Synseal’s research and development team is constantly looking for ways to reduce silicon sealing, and improve on what is already a professional, complete conservatory finish." A cut down version can also be used to achieve the same results on a P-shape conservatory, where the ridge meets the wallplate. Further details on this and all other new developments to Synseal’s conservatory roofs and Shield profile can be viewed by Synseal customers at www.syntek.co.uk.
"With so much to say we decided to review Synseal’s website to make it quicker for visitors to find what they need," explains Phil Else, Marketing Manager. "We believe in using IT when it’s needed, not just for the sake of it. In this case we can make information quickly and easily accessible to our customers. As a result we now have a network of four websites;
www.synseal.com is the main site, containing company information, an overview of the product range, the latest news, frequently asked questions and contact information.
www.synsealtimes.co.uk
even more control over the process, rather than having to rely on external suppliers. Bringing it in house also means Synseal customers benefit from more consistency, because it eliminates the need to outsource to several different plants across the country. And now that we’re self sufficient in this area as well, we can develop new products from the initial idea to stock, even quicker."
is a complete archive of all our newsletters. It provides a quick reference point for customers and prospects who may not keep hard copies of all past issues. It is also another way of providing easy access to all the news and product updates over the last three years.
The total online market in Britain last year grew 36% to £4.9 billion, ten times faster than that for total retail spend, according to Verdict Retail Consultants. Much of this growth is down to the fact that, when used properly, the internet is an effective, easy to use, powerful business tool. More and more people are using the Internet as an information resource.
customer suggestions "While we feel we’ve done a good job on our websites and have created a comprehensive network of information for our customers," comments Nick, "we do welcome feedback and suggestions. That’s why we have a customer suggestion facility on the Syntek site. And we don’t ask for suggestions just for the sake of asking – we listen and act upon any feedback we get."
www.globalroof.co.uk is a relatively new addition dedicated to global. It details everything that’s different about the global roof, which is more than people might realise, from the product developments themselves to the packaging the products are wrapped in. The site features the latest Global news with information on the BBA testing procedures the roof has passed – you can even download a real time video of the tests being carried out. There’s a pricing section too, so anyone can see how much they get for their money with global.
www.syntek.co.uk is the latest addition to the network of websites, established exclusively to keep customers up to date with all the latest developments. Synseal’s research and development programme is acknowledged as innovative and pro-active. A stream of new products and new developments to existing products are launched on a regular basis, and it can be difficult for customers to keep track of so much information from so many different sources. Synseal’s innovative answer is this new, dedicated website. "We don’t rest on our laurels when it comes to improving products and service," explains Nick Dutton, Sales and Marketing Director. "We are always enhancing products, modifying the conservatory system bar lengths to improve optimisation for example, developing new software, introducing new manufacturing techniques and producing new marketing support materials. But we recognise that different people need different information, so we have tailored our sites to make it easier and quicker for them to find what they need. Factory managers, installation managers or specifiers want more detailed technical information and they need the latest updates. Now they can find it on syntek.co.uk. As far as we know this is an industry first."
Mark Powell, Managing Director of New View Trade Frames recently discovered what happens when you make a suggestion via the Syntek website. "We’ve been using Synseal’s global roof for just over six months and have been very impressed with Synseal as a supplier. I’m really pleased they’ve spent so much time developing their websites, you can simply download and print off what you need, when you need it. One thing I needed that wasn’t on the site was a downloadable bar length order form. I completed the on-line form not really expecting a response, a lot of companies now have websites with a feedback facility, but aren’t quite organised enough to reply and act upon the suggestions they get. Within a week of submission the order form was available on line and emailed to all global customers! I’m very impressed Synseal responded so quickly and I was even more impressed action was taken so quickly."
Nick Dutton, Sales and Marketing Director of Synseal Extrusions Ltd, looks at brand loyalty, the glue that keeps customers and suppliers together.
NICK’S IN THE CHAIR
Through T H I C K and T H I N Brands are everywhere, and nearly everything we can think of is branded. In an ever more complex and fast moving world, where time is at a premium, brands do a useful job as vital signposts. They create expectations or remind us of what can be hoped for from a product, service or company. They save us having to think every time we make a purchase. Those expectations are what the brand promise is about, and what purchase decisions are based on.
Do your customers feel respected? The brand includes a great deal more than the hard stuff – the product, quality, deliveries and back up. That’s the stuff you can generally measure. The brand includes soft stuff too, intangibles such as management effectiveness and integrity, relationships and trust which are harder to measure. The soft stuff, the emotional dimension, is all about customer engagement. Do customers enjoy the experience, do they like the brand and the company they buy from? Do they appreciate how they are treated? Do they feel respected and valued? Would they buy if there were credible, convenient alternatives? Is it a warm or cold relationship, close or distant, high or low energy?
Feelings matter This might seem like emotional fluff, but these things are important. It is virtually impossible to take a decision without the involvement of our emotional brain. No one decides to buy a BMW purely on the fineness of its engineering, however impressive it is. Nor do fabricators choose profile purely on price, quality or reliability of deliveries however we pretend otherwise. Research shows that businesses lose customers when relationships break down. If customers feel suppliers truly care and are fighting hard to keep
glass age/2004
them happy customers will stick by them through thick and thin no matter what the problems. If they feel unloved, despised or patronised they won’t hang around. Don’t get me wrong. If your product is like a pie with no filling then there is no hope. If your products fail to provide the benefits customers need to compete effectively in today’s market you are a lost cause. Customers will give you time to update your products and sort out operational and technical problems. But if you treat them badly, abuse the relationship, treat them without respect or affection, or you don’t stick by them in their hour of need then you are on the downward slope. Those complaints and that trickle of defections will turn in to a flood you cannot control.
Customers that walk away Hard boiled, pragmatic management measures what it can measure and overlooks what it cannot. It looks at the numbers and focuses on the easily measurable which generally turns out to be the hard stuff. And when it does measure customer relationships it assumes that a satisfied customer is a loyal customer. It takes it for granted that ‘quite satisfied’ customers, who don’t complain are happy and not at risk. But nothing could be further from the truth. Research conducted four years ago by the Institute of Customer Service confirmed that old cliché that people tend not to complain - they simply walk away. They might not switch immediately, but when they decide that no one is listening, that their supplier doesn’t care and nothing is going to change, they’ll start to look around. Only extremely satisfied or delighted customers are loyal. Repeat buyers may say they are satisfied with
your products, service, prices and the relationship. But that is no guarantee that they are not already looking at alternatives, or that they cannot be seduced by one of your rivals.
Nick Dutton, Synseal’s Sales and Marketing Director
When Versatile, a company with its own technically advanced conservatory roof, chose another roof system to sell alongside it you know that roof has to be something special. David Burles, Group Managing Director of The Burles Group, which includes Versatile Ltd, Modplan Ltd, Modplan (Wales) Ltd and Connect2 National Plastics, explains: "We are not replacing Versatile which, with its unique pultruded GRP peripheral ring-beam gutter, will continue to serve a special niche market. global, which will be sold through the fast growing,
When you lose customers, analysis often reveals problems with people, systems or product that you can quickly put right. Some problems take longer to fix, particularly if you have postponed investment in products, plant or people. A few may be nigh impossible to solve. Solutions that involve restructuring the business, a change in directors or the culture of the company are difficult to face.
Versatile’s Induction seminar at Synseal
seventeen branch Connect2 National Plastics network, gives us the product to attack the mass market. From what I’ve seen there is nothing to beat it." "We chose global," said Kevin Barnard Managing Director of Versatile, "because the product is easy to manufacture, and the software is so good it really does not need to be pre-assembled before putting on the wagons. It has a minimum number of parts and is very easy for installers to put together. It looks good and the marketing tools are excellent with display cases, brochure packs, technical information and price lists – everything you could want to make the sale is provided. It practically sells itself. It’s a super job. We took 26 of our Area Sales Managers, Field Sales Managers and product people to Synseal for induction and training and we were very impressed. The Connect2 National Plastics network is growing fast and global is also growing very fast. We are expecting big things from the combination."
Kevin Harvey demonstrates some of the many benefits of the global system
Why do companies ignore warning signs? They may not perceive them as warnings. They may be in denial and refuse to acknowledge the problems. Big profitable companies are prone to complacency, and respond to customer defections or the success of rivals with: problems, what problems? Good riddance, they were never really our sort of customer. We didn’t want them anyway. Why change a winning formula. If it isn’t broke, why fix it? And so on.
customer accreditations Expressions has been awarded the BS 7412 certificate for its frames and BSEN 1279 certificate for its glass units.
Mirror, mirror on the wall Loss of customers is the surest sign of a business with serious problems. If you are suffering from customer defections look further than your product, your competitors or customers. Look beyond profits too, they are the result of past action and no sure guide to future performance. Look in the mirror. Look hard at the soft stuff and your business behaviour. You and your company’s culture might be the problem. Have you kept your brand promises? Do your customers like you?
Loss of customers is the surest sign of a business with serious problems. If you are suffering from customer defections look further than your product, your competitors or customers.
Since taking the helm of Glasgow based Trade Frames Direct in March last year , Gary Fieldman and Michael Bishop have not only increased window and door production by 50% to 500 frames per week, they have also now been presented with British Board of Agrément approval.
"We wanted these standards so we are not restricted in who we sell to in any way," explains Paul Fenty, owner of Expressions. "Operating in the new build market requires a high degree of professionalism and although we always knew we could deliver, it helps to have an independent body endorsing our products. We fabricate our frames from Synseal’s Shield profile so we were confident they would pass the rigorous welding, security, thermal efficiency and wind tests, and they did. We didn’t have to change the way we worked to achieve the standards but we are more aware of procedures and how to prevent problems before they happen."
The award was presented on Synseal’s stand at Glassex. Gary Fieldman, Joint Managing Director of Trade Frames Direct explains why they applied for BBA approval, "It’s critical for our planned expansion with 40% of our customers in the new build sector – a sector that demands high standards. While we know we provide these consistent high standards, it’s important to prove this to others with 3rd party independent body approval. Throughout the whole process, Synseal has been and continues to be behind us all the way, which is a massive help to a new company in the industry who wants to go places." Whether you’ve been a Synseal customer for a while, or have just joined us, if you’d like to be included in the next newsletter, please give Helen Ahern at our PR Agency Michael Rigby Associates a call on 01453 521621.
tradelink goes all global Tradelink, a well known name among UK trade fabricators, has been buying in a leading brand of conservatory roofs for a number of years . But recently the company decided to manufacture roofs. Before Tradelink took the final decision, it looked at all the roof systems available to see if any could offer the range and versatility it was looking for. Synseal Extrusions’ global was the only roof that fulfilled the criteria. "Since taking on the global roof, customer response has been exceptional," says Bruce Morley, Sales Director of Tradelink. "I’m excited by the prospects. The components are thicker and stronger than on other roofs. You can see the strength in the PVC-U capping which combined with the thickness of the box gutter results in a great looking, strong roof. There are also fewer unnecessary parts, which mean it’s less confusing and easier and quicker to put together. The overall package, the quality and a competitive price, means our customers can sell it on at a better margin so everyone’s happy."
SHOWROOM SHOWCASE Things have come a long way for John Robinson, Managing Director of UPVC Warehouse based in Wolverhampton, since he applied for a window fitter’s job 21 years ago and bor rowed £500 from his grandad to buy a van .
He started fitting but soon realised that he could make more money working for himself. Fabricating at night and fitting during the day, John’s original business, operating from a shed with a hole in the roof, has now developed into a successful £2million turnover company. Always on the look out for products with great potential – John was among the first to take the Shield Roof - he decided eight years ago that conservatories were the next big thing. John comments, "Our showroom is now 5000 sq feet, located on a busy bus route and right next to
traffic lights. We’ve hung flags outside to attract attention too. The latest addition to the showroom is 14 full sized conservatories, showing off different styles and finishes. The conservatories are furnished so that customers can see the end result. You wouldn’t buy a car without a test drive, and buying a conservatory is not really that different. Our customers can see what they are getting right down to the flooring. They can sit down and have a cup of coffee and feel at home. We don’t have to sell anything. Our customers buy from us."
It was another fantastic Glassex show for Synseal, with our stand dedicated to the roof for all systems, global . "It was the busiest, most frenetic and exciting show we’ve ever had," says Nick Dutton. "We knew there was a lot of interest in global, but we were delighted with just how many people visited our stand. We had well over 300 leads over the four days. We started the show on Sunday with nine people manning the stand, but soon had to call for reinforcements, which meant there were
14 of us on hand to cope with the demand. Particularly popular was our new gutter system which visitors were queuing up to see, closely followed by the revelation that global can be assembled in just 43 minutes, half the time of any other roof system prior to Glassex. There was also a really positive reaction to global Blue from the sector of the market that requires this solution. The numbers speak for themselves, but visitors were impressed with our display of products and the space to walk around the stand and talk to the team to see what we have to offer."
Both Synseal’s Shield and global roofs were awar ded the British Board of Agrément certification at Glassex. Bob Priest, Quality Standards Manager of Synseal explains why they applied for the BBA. "We know our roofs can stand the test of time because of the lack of problems
our
customers
experience, but we wanted to give
UPVC Warehouse has been with Synseal for 8 years. John says, "Synseal has such an edge on competitors because everything in the system is designed to fit together. Synseal is so easy to deal with. One phone call, one invoice and one delivery. And then there’s the amazing marketing support. Long may it continue."
them another selling point too. Having BBA approval on our roofs makes a big difference to our installers. It allows them to provide even more reassurance to the homeowner. It can make all the difference at the point of sale.
"Quality Roofing Systems is a BBA Accr edited conser vator y roof fabricator at the quality end of the market" explains QRS Company Director Dave Butter y. "We initially fabricated the Quantal Roof and the K2 Roofing System both to BBA Accredited fabricator status. A few months ago the decision to replace K2 with global was taken. "I must say we are impressed by the global Roof and by Synseal, it is a fantastic system, it’s extremely fabricator and fitter friendly, Synseal are a very focused and passionate company who constantly listen to customers, look for improvements and get the job done. "Working in conjunction with Synseal, QRS have put considerable investment
As recent headlines have shown,
into our new "Allure" Aluminium Powder Coated Roofing System which was launched at Glassex 2004, with a fantastic response. The aluminium finial, cresting, radius end cover and polycarbonate end closure are unique to QRS. "It was definitely the right move for QRS, as increased orders show that both "Allure" and "global" are favoured by fitters for ease of assembly, reduced installation time and minimum disruption for the end customer. "Things are going very well, we have hired Henry Inglis as Sales Director, Henry is well known in the industry and has recruited two extra sales executives to support our momentum throughout the UK."
we haven’t had any problems getting customers without the BBA approval, but having it does give us another important advantage. The roofs were tested for water penetration, thermal
wind
exposure
resistance, and
static
new shield specification guide Synseal has in the region of 450 trade fabricators. But some customers have now started to work in the commercial sector. "Although our key focus has been on developing relationships with trade fabricators and helping to grow their business, Synseal is dedicated to supporting all of its customers," explains Nick Dutton. "If that means designing new support material for customers working in different sectors, that’s what we’ll do. We’ve also found that many of our products already meet or surpass the relevant
Graham Holmes Astraseal, one of the earliest PVC-U fabricators in the UK is a lar ge fabricator with big plans for conser vatories. "We’ve been making Ultraframe roofs in volume for 7 years," says Managing Director Andrew McKeown, "and things have gone well for us. Ultraframe is very big and popular, but we want to exploit the potential of the market. We’re aiming to
sell many more roofs a week in 2004 so we felt we needed something a bit special. global is a first class system at a competitive price. It’s easy to put together on site and very installer friendly. We did our market research and customers were most impressed with the product, prices, sample cases and marketing support. The training we had from Synseal on global was excellent too.
"It’s also got extra benefits: the thermal efficiency of the double skinned box gutter and the clip in gutter," continues Andrew. "With the three glazing bar options you can mix and match making it a very flexible system. The rainwater is unhanded too which is a big help. The First Degree software is also compatible with our window software so it’s much easier all round."
Synseal’s Mark Carter (right) receiving the BBA certificate at Glassex
requirements for commercial work. This has attracted new
loading over a period of three
customers who are already involved in the commercial market –
days. And the results? Our roofs
hence the specification guide."
can withstand the equivalent of
The guide has an introduction to Synseal, a list and explanation of
113 inches of rain in 24 hours (the
all its accreditations, frequently asked questions relating to technical
total annual rainfall in 2003 was
aspects, quality assurance and installation, schematics of Shield
34 inches!), wind speeds of up to
windows and doors and technical data relating to various aspects of
85 miles per hour and an applied
Shield windows and doors, including the u-values you can achieve with Shield.
load of 120 kilograms per square metre, that’s four feet of snow to
This latest addition to Synseal’s marketing support package is
you and me."
stylish, fully illustrated and easy to use. All of our profile customers can look forward to receiving a copy through the post.
For online coverage of the BBA tests, visit www.globalroof.co.uk