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Are you an installer that’s struggling to find new fitters? The skills shortage continues to be one of the most pressing issues for our industry – and for others – but there are solutions available for companies who are willing to invest in the next generation of talent. A good example is Nationwide Windows, which I visited recently. Nationwide, which...
Over 700 people attended the G Awards on Friday last week, which returned to the Hilton on Park Lane. It was another superb evening, demonstrating once again why the G-Awards are regarded as the industry’s premier awards event – not just for the glitz and glamour of the venue, but for the calibre of the finalists and also that the...
The G Awards, now in its 19th year and firmly established as the industry’s premier awards event, returns to the Hilton on Park Lane this Friday. After a challenging 12 months, the G23s will once again provide the perfect platform to recognise the very best of our industry – from the most talented individuals and the leading businesses, to the...
I’ve lost count of the number of press releases I’ve read over the years that are littered with words such as ‘innovative’ and ‘game changing’ when describing the launch of a product or service – when quite often, ‘new’ or perhaps ‘upgraded’ are more accurate adjectives. So, you’re going to have to trust me when I say that the new...
The latest figures from Halifax have revealed a rise in house prices of 1.1% in October, despite ongoing pressure from higher interest rates and contrary to the predictions of economists. According to Halifax, average UK prices increased to £281,974, an increase of around £3,000. That means they are still down, marginally, year on year, but remain roughly £40,000 higher than...
It was common knowledge that Safestyle had been teetering on the edge for some time now, but at the end of last week, after failing to find a buyer, it was announced that the company had finally called in the administrators. The fact that the writing was on the wall will provide little comfort to the 680 or so workers...
Updates to the requirements for Part L, Part F and the forthcoming Future Homes Standard may have dominated industry conversations on regulatory change recently, but the introduction of new rules and regs on the handling of demolition waste wood – introduced at the start of September – is arguably a more pressing issue for installers, fabricators and contractors. The new...
Around 500 delegates arrived at the Edgbaston Stadium last week for the fifth annual Glazing Summit, enough for organisers to declare the event to be a ‘sell out success’. There was lots to talk about, with the Future Homes Standard, skills crisis and installer challenges taking up a large chunk of the conversation, but for me the most valuable part...
I’ve been round countless window and door factories over the years, but I’ve never had the opportunity to actually make a frame – until last week that is, when Quickslide invited members of the industry press to check out its new, all-singing, all-dancing Schirmer machining centre. Representing a huge £1.71m investment, the new Schirmer has been custom made to Quickslide’s...
Edgetech has announced that it will be hosting a new ‘Triple Glazing Question’ on March 27, 2024 at the CBS Arena (formerly Ricoh), almost 10 years after the original conference, as the industry prepares itself for the introduction of stricter energy efficiency requirements with the incoming Future Homes Standard (FHS). I attended a warmup event to the Triple Glazing Question...
The 2023 G Awards organisers have announced the shortlist for this year’s event, and thanks to 14 categories – a record number – there are a grand total of 84 entries through to the G23 finals, which will return to the London Hilton on Park Lane, on Friday 24 November. As you might expect, this week’s newsletter is heavily dominated...
Hundreds of people were welcomed to the Glass Times magazine race day at Epsom Down last week. It was another fantastic event, following on from the traditional Haydock meeting earlier this year, and along with the hospitality and racing, it was great to catch up with so many industry friends and colleagues. We will have a full report on the...
I interviewed Rehau’s CEO, Martin Hitchin, recently, a man who has over 30 years’ experience in the industry. Martin, who actually started his career at Rehau as an engineer in the late 1980s, recalled the pace of change when the industry was still adopting PVC products, and the sheer number of fabricators that were coming on board each week to...
After six weeks of fairly typical British weather, summer has finally arrived. Forecasts are for a heatwave with temperatures as high as 30C – excellent news for all the industry folk headed to Epsom next week for the Glass Times Race Day! Sunny weather can also have a positive impact on consumer spending habits, although if the latest data from...
I was recently in need of an installer to fit a new composite door – a traditional stable door configuration that was earmarked as a side entrance to the house – and I was surprised by how long it took before I found someone willing to take the job on. I explained that the door I’d chosen was from a...
Not so long ago, phrases such as ‘wellness’ and ‘wellbeing’ were more typically associated with Californian health resorts. Today, employee wellbeing should be regarded as a number one priority for business owners, including the glass and glazing industry. This is supported by a recent survey that revealed 79% of employees would leave their job for one that better supports their...
Jade Engineering has reported that it has had to work overtime to keep up with the number of fabricators who have been looking to switch suppliers following the closure of Duraflex. As the industry’s main supplier of tooling for both PVC and aluminium systems, it’s safe to say that Jade has its finger on the pulse of UK window and...
The latest data from Tommy Trinder has added further weight to previous market research on the continuing demand for premium products at the higher end of the home improvement sector. More than £155 million of work was quoted via Tommy Trinder’s Framepoint system in July, according to the company’s CEO, Chris Brunsdon, up 35% year on year. He adds that...
The latest data from Nationwide has revealed a 0.2% drop in house prices, month on month for July and a drop of 3.8% year on year. Economists see this as the first sign of higher mortgage rates starting to impact on the housing market and are predicting a further decline in house prices over the coming months. That suggests a...
There have been some big changes at the top of the supply chain so far this year. We’ve seen Duraflex announce that it is to wind down operations at its Tewksbury site, Safestyle has made the switch to Liniar profile and now Everest has agreed a supply deal with Veka. According to Everest 2020, the owner of the Everest brand,...