AluFold Direct is offering an outsourcing service to other fabricators who don’t want the hassle of overheads associated with making their own aluminium frames.

With dedicated, high-speed lines for windows, bi-folds and sliders, each with top of the range cutting and machining centres and fully automated four head crimpers, the Blackburn-based business says it can deliver the kind of speed and highly repeatable, precision outputs in aluminium which had previously only been possible in PVC-U.

The whole operation is geared to volume output and is said to be a world away from the ‘cottage industry’ type set-ups which still account for a surprising proportion of aluminium production in the UK.

Several big-name fabricators have reportedly signed up to the AluFold Direct service and are enjoying the benefits that come from having a reliable, source of high-quality aluminium frames and rooflights either to supplement or replace their own output.

AluFold Direct’s managing director, Russell Yates, said: “We never reveal the names of the fabricators who use our manufacturing services, but it is mostly PVC-U specialists who have aluminium as part of their product offering. They have looked at the market in 2023, analysed their costs, and judged that they can actually improve their margins right across the board by concentrating on PVC-U and leaving all their aluminium production to us.

“Our efficiency and the volumes we are turning out mean we can usually fabricate and supply to them at comparable or even lower costs than if they were manufacturing themselves, while they are also saving on overheads and stockholding.

“We also currently have fabricators who are just outsourcing a portion of their output to us to cope with peaks in demand, and we obviously work with them to quote according to volumes. The size of our factory and the investments we’ve made in automation since I joined in 2020 mean we have plenty of scalable capacity still available to take on even fairly high-volume third-party supply, and there is obviously no compromise on quality, efficiency or lead times for any of our customers.”

The AluFold Direct service means products are packaged unbranded and delivered in unmarked vans, so that fabricators can supply to their customers without any indication that they are being outsourced.

To talk to the team about confidential outsourcing, call: 01706 260700.