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Fitters Mate swap and save 25% manufacturing time After three years of fabricating K2 conservatory roofs, The Fitter’s Mate Ltd has switched to Global. At the end of last year the company started to look around for a roof that was consistently innovative, and would put them ahead of the competition. Frank Tate partner of The Fitter’s Mate Ltd explains why they opted for Global. "The Global roof was recommended to me by one of my sales reps. He had heard a lot of good
Blue white roof
reports about the roof in his previous job as a sales rep for another leading roof systems company. I approached Synseal and was very impressed. The tour of their factory is a great insight into quality manufacturing – we have even bought the same saw that Synseal use, to ensure the quality we produce is as high as it should be. They provided two of their technical experts to assist us for two days when we first set up, and support is always on the end of the
phone if we need it. The product itself is full of innovations that help us do our job more quickly and cost effectively. Just one example is the manufacturing software. It cuts manufacturing time by 25%." ‘Of course the direct time saving is only part of the story. The bigger picture is the simple fact that with such a production time saving we have a far greater capacity and turnover potential – and that’s before spending money on additional plant.’
Introducing the Conservatory Department In our regular departmental feature, we are back with the conservatory department in this edition of The Synseal Times. The department is now 23 strong – two people on the team are dedicated to customer services, the rest divide their time between order processing and customer services. Dave Bingley, head of the department provides an insight of what it’s like to work in the conservatory department. "The best way I can describe working in such a busy part of Synseal is hectic fun! Four of the 23 in the department enjoy it so much they have been here since the start of the department almost three years ago."
THE SYNSEAL TIMES IT’S A NUMBERS GAME
Dave Bingley (centred) with his customer services team Keith Rhodes and Jamie Clarke
One of the extra highlights on Synseal’s stand at Glassex this year is the launch of the new Global blue white roof (Global Blue).
"The colour samples we are using match the most popular blue white window profiles perfectly," explains Kevin Harvey, Director of Sales. "We decided to offer the blue white colour because of the number of enquiries we had for another white colour option. "To date companies using blue white window profiles have had to make do with the old order conservatory products which match the colour of the windows and doors they use, but don’t do much else.
CTC swap and see 30% with sales hike
blue
Their suppliers simply haven’t been able to keep up with the changing conservatory market. Now companies fabricating blue white profile can enjoy the benefits of Global Blue, a next generation product that’s fast and easy to fabricate and install, and looks good too."
Conservatory Trade Centres (CTC) had fabricated the K2 conservatory roof for a year before deciding to change to Global in December last year. "I went to Glassex and looked at all the roof systems available," says Duncan Murray, Managing Director of CTC. "Synseal’s roof came out on top. Our customers are delighted because they are saving time too – their installation time is approximately 20% less than the previous roof, meaning they can sell and install more. Just three weeks after we started fabricating Global, our sales had already increased by 30%. We hope to double production by the end of 2004, which I am sure we can achieve with Synseal’s superb product and proactive marketing support."
ISSUE NO.11 Winter/Spring 03/04
Every dog has its day If you haven’t seen it before, the Financial Times hosts a Stars and Dogs section in its newspaper which highlights companies whose shares are doing particularly well – the stars, or particularly badly – the dogs. Ultraframe appeared in this feature for the second time in December last year as a dog. But we were a bit confused by its explanation of why it was struggling. It claimed the entire conservatory market was not having an easy time of it. This certainly isn’t what the overall figures say, and it’s certainly not our experience of the market. At the time of going to press we felt so strongly about it we wrote to the FT with this response, to limit the damage done to your and our industry by talking it down.
STARS & DOGS The Financial Times 1 Southwark Bridge Road London SE1 9HL
In the first two years of Synseal entering into the conservatory market, there have been:
Dear Ms Cohen I was interested to read two reviews of Ultraframe plc in the FTon 11th October and again on 6th December 2003. I would certainly endorse your rating of Ultraframe plc as a Dog rather than a Star, their UK market share has halved in the last 4 years, but I do take issue with the explanations for their lacklustre performance. As a matter of record and observation the UK conservatory market is anything but flat – it is booming.
86
We make more than conservatory roof systems – we are a leading window systems company too – and our sales are growing across the board, but conservatories have had a big impact on our growth. You can see that from our growth figures in this January’s issue of Management Today on pages 40-41. In 2003 Synseal was featured in the Sunday Times Profit Track top 100 companies.
new components introduced
Our growth has come by winning business from competitors such as Ultraframe, but the market is growing fast too. We are now ranked 3rd in the market by volume.
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I don’t expect you to take our word for it without corroboration. There are two independent studies of the market you could consult: The UK Conservatory Market Report – the more comprehensive and accurate of the two which tracks market shares, growth and forecasts - from Michael Rigby Associates, and Palmer Market Research. Michael Rigby Associates quote market growth of 15% for 2002, and estimate 15% for 2003 too. Jim Rawson, chairman of Epwin plc, which took itself private about four years ago, is quoted in December’s Fabrication & Glazing Industries magazine Conservatory Supplement as saying: "Conservatories are growing at 10% a year and I see no reason for this to slow down." Epwin is another leading window group with a conservatory roof systems company. Its public statements on forecasts tend to be conservative. Alternatively look in the conservatory trade press (for example: Conservatory Magazine; Fabrication & Glazing Industries magazine Conservatory Supplement; or Conservatory Design & Build, which hosts the Conservatory Quarterly Trends Report that we sponsor). Ask others who compete with Ultraframe. Or ask any of the thousands of conservatory companies that supply the homeowner. They have their work cut out to keep up with demand. This market is generally regarded in the trade as a fast growing market with considerable potential. In no sense is it flat, and to report that does no favours to the market. Confidence is an important element in most big ticket consumer purchases, and talking down the market – as Ultraframe are doing to explain their poor performance – is mischievous. Publishing those excuses without investigating their explanations is irresponsible and unhelpful. If you need information or want to talk to those who do know this large and growing market please call me. Alternatively you could speak directly to some of those I have listed (see below). I enclose a chart showing how the market has grown. It is taken from the latest Michael Rigby Associates’Conservatory report. Yours sincerely
Gary Dutton Chairman
optimised bar length changes
7
product updates In the last calendar quarter of 2003 other roofing system manufacturers reported a 9% downturn in sales. Shield conservatory customers sold
33.6%
more conservatories in the same period.
More space to accommodate 31% year on year growth Synseal is adding even more space to its already expansive Sutton-inAshfield site. This extra 27,000 sq ft will house a state of the art mixing plant and extrusion hall. This latest investment totals £4m. "The extra space allows us to maintain our high, efficient standards, while carefully staying ahead of our continuing growth," says Gareth Edwards, Commercial Director of Synseal. "A total of six silos are being installed for all the raw materials we need to hold, along with a further five extrusion lines with room for more when we need them." "Over the last four years Synseal has experienced a compounded 31% growth year on year. Conservatories have been responsible for an incredible amount of additional profile business, and there is no reason to suspect this growth will slow. That’s why we are continually investing to maintain our high levels of quality, innovation and service that customers have come to rely on."
S Y N S E A L EXTRUSIONS LIMITED, COMMON ROAD, HUTHWAITE, NOTTS. NG17 6AD
TEL:
(01623) 443200
email:
nickdutton@synseal.com
FAX:
(01623) 550243 www. s y n s e a l . c o m
Synseal regularly manufacture in excess of
100 kit roofs per day. Every
3.5 minutes of every working week a Synseal conservatory is now being completed. If you would like extra copies of The Synseal Times for your sales teams, showrooms etc. Call Phil Else on 01623 443 200
This newsletter was printed on material from a sustainable forest.
FLAT? NOT FOR In This SYNSEAL’S CUSTOMERS Issue
"It is common knowledge in the industry that Synseal has seen dramatic growth in recent years, and it continues to expand at an astonishing rate. Some of this growth has come from new customers. In the final three months of 2003 Synseal set up and began trading with 76 new Shield and Global customers. These are in addition to the new Global conservatory roof customers who all came on stream when the roof was launched in 2003.
"What is less well known is how strongly Synseal’s roof customers are growing. They are having a heyday. ‘On a like for like basis, we measured the sales from the same 222 customers, and they collectively sold 33.6% more conservatories during the same 3 month period in 2003 than 2002.’
"Everyone – or nearly everyone – can see that the conservatory market is continuing to expand rapidly, but not this rapidly! Selling Synseal conservatories clearly enables you to grow faster than others, and capture a greater share of this fast growing market. Although both roofs have significant benefits compared with other roofs, our customers’ growth owes a lot to the powerful selling tools that come with it. Almost all conservatory companies are growing fast in this market, it’s just some are growing that much faster than others. Read on for some of our customers’ success stories.
‘Inside you will find some of our customers stating that it must be the products that are flat, not the market.’
New products for Glassex: . Gutter System . Blue white roof . Valley cloaking system . Rafter end capping
NEW
Gutter option
NEW RAFTER CAPPING SYSTEM A new rafter end cap with a lip returning up the glazing bar, concealing the end of the rafter top cap. More inside...
To offer more choice we have now introduced an alternative guttering system, using traditional gutter brackets. More inside...
NEW VALLEY CLOAKING SYSTEM
The valley cloaking system has undergone a facelift. More inside...
See global at
FEATURE Boom time for Synseal customers Yet more new products unveiled
New Customers
Welcome to our Customer Feature pages. 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. "Changing suppliers after 10 years is not something you look to do," comments Cecil Wilson, Managing Director of Ayrshire Agencies, Scotland’s premier roofing fabricator.
YRSHIRE GENCIES LTD
"But some companies change when they get bigger. We’d had a long and successful relationship with our previous supplier, but we’d become just a number and were no longer on friendly terms. Our prices were not competitive and our sales were falling in a rising market. But no one listened or took note. Instead we had to accept higher prices in 2003, so we looked at all the alternatives. You can’t fail to be impressed with Global, with the product and the whole setup. It’s a good product and customers are singing its praises and we are on a sales blitz."
swap and repatriate lost customers
A positive chain reaction There’s a lot of publicity about systems companies experiencing tremendous growth, but we don’t so often hear about this growth spreading down the supply chain. South Wales fabricator Euroframe has enjoyed 200% growth since becoming a Synseal Extrusions customer three years ago . "We started fabricating Synseal in 1999 and grew 60% 2000-01, 100% 2001-02 and 40% 2002-03," explains Paul Goddard Owner of Euroframe. One of the customers supporting Euroframe’s growth through its own growth is installer JP Windows and Conservatories. "We buy from Euroframe because they provide us with a good service," says Tony and Robert, Directors of JP Windows and Conservatories, "but also because they supply Synseal. The Shield conservatory system saves us 40% on installation time which means we can install more, which means we need to buy more. It’s a win-win situation."
Cecil Wilson, Managing Director of Ayrshire Agencies, and Synseal’s Kevin Harvey
‘Part of this sales blitz has been to organise an open day for Ayrshire Agencies customers, both new and old. On hand to help Cecil with the event were Synseal’s Kevin Harvey and Laurie Greenard. ‘We are over the moon to have Ayrshire Agencies as a customer,’ says Kevin Harvey, Synseal’s Director of Sales. ‘Ayrshires name is respected throughout Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the North of England. This respect was proven by the fabulous turnout to Cecil’s open day, but most incredibly was the number of people that used to buy from Ayrshire Agencies but had to move away when the market changed beyond his existing product. Because Cecil has always kept the door open to these lost customers, they are more than happy to rejoin him now that he has upgraded his product to meet with the markets requirements.’
"We are over the moon to have Ayrshire Agencies as a customer," says Kevin Harvey, Synseal’s Director of Sales. "Ayrshire’s name is respected throughout Scotland, Northern Ireland and the North of England”.
NEW GUTTER SYSTEM Both the Global and Shield conservatory roofs have for the past nine months had the added benefit of the revolutionary swing fit guttering system. To offer more choice we have now introduced an alternative g u t t e r i n g system, using traditional gutter brackets. The gutter brackets are fixed directly to the eaves
beam and are concealed within the gutter. This new system still has many of the existing swing fit gutter benefits, like the deep non-handed Ogee shape, non-handed outlets, round down pipes, and the facility for a spigot outlet. "A number of our customers told us their installers would like the option of the traditional type of gutter fixing system, especially for the more awkward style of installation," says Nick Dutton, Sales and Marketing Director of Synseal. "This new system offers great flexibility for installers on site." Shortly, all orders for fabricated conservatories will automatically default to the new product. Both guttering options will work with the same eaves beam component. Of course, the revolutionary 'swing-fit' guttering product will remain in the conservatory portfolio and is available to all customers upon request at no extra cost.
ANOTHER EYE
NICK’S IN THE CHAIR
DEALING with the DEVIL In most industries you’ll find suppliers who range from the much admired to the barely respected. But in some you’ll find a few, often powerful and dominant market leaders, who are disliked and resented by many of their customers. It’s a strange phenomenon, something few marketing textbooks touch on. We can all think of examples. The railways, Inland Revenue, or the electricity, gas or water utilities, whether privatised or not. Picture the misery and frustration of commuters condemned to years of suffering and you get the flavour. In these instances we don’t have much choice, but there are examples in other industries too. Surely if they feel so strongly customers will seek more congenial suppliers? It often boils down to timing and a matter of choice, or the perception of choice.
Playground bullies
Kevin Harvey demonstrates the benefits of Global at the open day
ANOTHER
Nick Dutton, Sales and Marketing Director of Synseal Extrusions Ltd, looks at the phenomenon of suppliers behaving badly.
Take Microsoft. As a leading brand, the software giant guards its dominant market share fiercely. Found guilty by a Federal District Court of monopolistic practices, reports of its bullying reached such levels that it was judged to have violated anti-trust laws (see www.silicon.com). In its heyday, BT too was denounced for ignoring the interests of its customers and attempting to suppress competition. And the public spats between Virgin and British Airways, where Virgin’s boss Richard Branson spoke up repeatedly for choice and against the bullying tactics of its much larger rival, are legendary.
When the supplier is king It is said that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. A dominant market position is very seductive. It tempts firms to believe they are invincible. It doesn’t start out that way but prolonged spells at the top tends glass age/2004
to turn heads. Their share of market may be the result of special skills, knowledge or insight, but they start to believe they are always right, and right in all things. Before long they feel they walk on water. Growth and high profits are their right. They grow arrogant and complacent, ‘good news companies’that are deaf to market research, unpleasant feedback or alternative views. They believe they know best. What is good for them and how they choose to serve the customer must be good for the customer – no matter what customers tell them to the contrary. They dictate to customers and tell them what they can or cannot do, and who else they can trade with. If this sounds familiar take heart. Time is on your side.
it’s a case of the devil you know being better than the devil you don’t know. Suppliers may say they care about customer service and good relations, but actions speak louder than words. We know when we are cared for and listened to. We don’t like suppliers who compete against us, or squeeze our buying prices while they make enormous margins. We all know what we want and what is in our best interests, and we don’t like being dictated to.
Nick Dutton, Synseal’s Sales and Marketing Director
Every dog has his day No empire lasts forever. Dominant players can be challenged and humbled. They can be overtaken and choice restored. No one gave much for Tesco’s chances in the early 1980s against much larger rivals with better resources and larger retail networks. But from cheap and cheerful to clear market leader Tesco turned the tables on Sainsbury, the once dominant supermarket chain, and changed our perceptions of itself and its competitors. No one accused Sainsbury of abusing its power, but no position is unchallengeable. Business is about people – staff, suppliers and customers. If a company gets it wrong, or gets on the wrong side of any of them, corrective action will surely follow.
"So, you want to be one of our dealers do you?" Suppliers that believe customers are lucky to deal with them may have things back to front, but without choice they act with impunity. Without credible alternatives no one changes supplier:
They may supply a good product with a high specification but when questionable practice, arrogance or inadequacies in the relationship start to hamper the performance and potential of your business frustration and resentment can turn to action. In these situations companies will do almost anything to find an alternative, or even get their own back.
Once the pendulum starts to swing As history shows, once companies recognise that a choice exists, and there are credible alternatives, they vote with their feet and things move fast. We don’t have to look to other markets to see it happening. Dominant market shares shrink rapidly as the new order starts to assert itself. Market leaders may try to disguise the slide by references to slow markets or difficult trading conditions, but it is hard to square with clear evidence of growing markets and fast growing competitors. Most suppliers have your best interests at heart, but if you are dealing with the devil and feel trapped take a fresh look at the market. How up to date are your perceptions? When was the last time you looked seriously at the alternatives? There is no lack of credible suppliers to help you grow. The old order is changing.
RECORD BROKEN, OPENER FROM SYNSEAL
Conservatories are big news at Glassex. They have become an increasingly significant part of any forward thinking company’s mix. The prime spot at the show this year is dedicated to Global - the innovative roof for all systems. We want to show the industry that all the good reports about it since launch 9 months ago, are true. The highlight of the stand is a dramatic revelation about time saving, but for now we want to keep the details under wraps. Let’s just say, if you’re used to working with other conservatory roofs, or have been impressed by recent claims about time saving from other companies, what we have to show you will be quite an eye opener! And if that isn’t enough, we are also launching the new blue white Global roof –
Global Blue - at the show. Perfectly colour matched to the main blue white profiles in the market, this new roof opens up the whole host of Global roof benefits to users of blue white window and door profile.
PVC-U P R O F I L E S Y S T EM S F OR Q U A L I T Y W I N DO W S, D O O R S & C O NS E R V A T O R I E S
Customers tell us that the features and benefits of Global are big news, another reason we’re at Glassex. It’s the place to be for an innovative company with something to show. And we certainly have something to show! For those of you who’ve heard the rumours about how quickly it can be installed, yes they’re true – but you’ll have to wait for Glassex and see for yourself!
New Conservatory rafter capping suite Synseal’s R&D Department is consistently developing and introducing new products for our conservatories. Our drive for innovation ensures we stay at the forefront of this ever evolving market. The latest development is the addition of a new rafter end cap with a lip returning up the glazing bar, concealing the end of the rafter top cap. We have also added an extra dimension by putting a chamfer on the visible face of the cap. This creates a more substantial and
SYNSEAL
complete appearance to the product. We’ve also designed out the existing screw cover cap by putting in an internal recess within the moulding to house the screw. This recess is then covered with a specially designed flush cover plate. And the even better news? Global and Shield customers do not have to pay any extra for these important aesthetic benefits.
All of the caps in this new range will be launched at Glassex later this month.
ASSET increases SALES with SHIELD Since Asset Manufacturing started using Synseal Extrusions Ltd for trade and retail work in June last year, there has been no looking back. "We chose Synseal because of the Shield roof, the low line gasket and sculptured sash on the Shield window profile, all of which made it ideal for the domestic market" says Mike Reeve, Sales Manager of Asset. "And we haven’t been disappointed. For example, since we started with Synseal eight months ago, our domestic sales have increased by 39%. But most important, our customers are happy too."
NEW VALLEY CLOAKING SYSTEM The valley cloaking system has also undergone a facelift. The existing slide-on valley top cap has been replaced by a ‘clip on’ extrusion, designed specifically to cover the top of a valley gutter. This new profile also incorporates side wings that cloak the edges of the glazing bars and polycarbonate in the valley gutter, providing a complete and tidy finish. Naturally we have also produced a new valley end cap to cover the side wings, totally concealing the lower end of the new valley system. As with the new rafter end cap suite, this new system will be launched and available for new and current customers to view at Glassex.
BS7413 KM 30983
FM 31451
BS7950/7413 KM 41324
SYNSEAL EXTRUSIONS LIMITED, COMMON ROAD, H U T H WAITE, S U T TO N - I N - A S H F I E L D , NOTTS. NG17 6AD
TEL: (01623) 443200 FAX: (01623) 550243 email: nickdutton@synseal.com
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