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I attended Aluk’s first ever Exploration Day last week, an event that was designed to follow up from high levels of interest generated at the 2025 FIT Show. For the fabricators and installers that made the trip to Aluk’s impressive Chepstow HQ, it was an opportunity to have an overview of what the aluminium systems house has to offer, but...
Is the UK glazing industry finally ready to fully embrace the potential of triple glazing? In last week’s newsletter, I highlighted the investment from Regency Glass in bringing its new ultra-thin glass triple glazing solution to the UK market, a product that is around 30% lighter than conventional triple and one that is compatible with a standard 28mm profile. Regency’s...
There were numerous product launches at this year’s FIT Show but one of the real highlights for me was the introduction of a new, ultra-thin triple glazing solution that is being brought to market by Regency Glass. The party piece of this new triple glazed IGU is that it can fit into a standard 28mm profile, so it can be...
I paid a visit to Origin’s flagship showroom in Bicester last week, a £250k investment from the premium aluminium window and door manufacturer that perfectly demonstrates why such a carefully curated space is so important when selling products at the top end of the market. Every element of the showroom has been thoughtfully designed, from the parking to the lobby...
As we hit the halfway mark for 2025, feedback from various industry sources is presenting a mixed forecast for the remainder of the year. For the retail sector, a number of factors have contributed to what is widely regarded as a flat market. These include the impact of global events and domestic interest and inflation rates on borrowing costs. This...
According to the latest Fenestration Market Overview by Insight Data, the overall number of PVC-U fabricators in the UK continues to decline, from 1,534 in 2014, to 1,132 in 2025 – a loss of 402 firms. In terms of volume, the impact of this is felt most strongly in smaller businesses, according to the report. In the last six years,...
If you’ve never heard of the name QFort, that would be understandable. Up until now, the manufacturer has focused on European markets, specifically Romania – where it is based – as well as France and Italy. In its home country, QFort is – quite literally – a household name. According to the managing director of QFort UK, Paul Cherciu, whose...
FIT Show organisers have reported strong attendance figures for this year’s exhibition, with visitor numbers up compared to the last event in 2023. The show, which also featured a significant number of first-time exhibitors, is said to have attracted a particularly high number of visitors on day one, with visitor registrations reportedly surpassing all previous editions. According to event director,...
Thousands of visitors attended the 2025 FIT Show last week, an event that once again highlighted the wealth of innovation and talent across all sectors of the industry. How did the 2025 show compare to previous outings? At the time of writing, official visitor numbers had not yet been released by show organisers, although it was clear to see that...
The 2025 FIT Show opened its doors yesterday, with thousands of industry professionals making the trip to Birmingham’s NEC. The event, which concludes tomorrow (Thursday 1 May), has seen numerous product launches, including new door and window systems, software & hardware innovations plus new service initiatives. It has also presented the chance for visitors to experience and purchase products in...
The 2025 FIT Show will open its doors next week from Tuesday 29 April to Thursday 1 May, presenting fabricators and installers with an unbeatable opportunity to experience a wealth of new products and services under one roof. It has been two years since the last FIT Show, and it will be two years until the next one, so for...
With less than two weeks to go before the 2025 FIT Show, a large chunk of this week’s newsletter is dedicated to the industry event that will open its doors on 29 April at Birmingham’s NEC. Visitors can expect plenty of new product development – especially as it’s been two years since the last show – as well as a...
The start of April has brought some welcome spring sunshine but it also coincides with a number of economic shifts that will have an impact on the glass and glazing industry. These include the end of the stamp duty holiday on house purchases, with first time buyers now having to pay stamp duty on property worth £300,000 or over (down...
With less than a month to go before the 2025 FIT Show, brands are continuing to sign up to the event, and we will be shedding more light on what these have to offer visitors over the coming weeks. There will be plenty of new product development, the chance to learn about important changes to regulations and of course a...
This week marks five years since the UK went into lockdown. I can still remember the shock of the announcement, but at the time I thought it would all be over by the end of the Easter holidays. There’s no way they can shut schools and businesses for any longer than that. Could they? I won’t need to remind anyone...
According to a recent news report, 1 in 15 people under the age of 25 – roughly 1.2million people – are now claiming sickness benefits. This is said to be a rise of two thirds in five years and is mainly attributed to mental health struggles. Around 25% of Gen Z that is employed, is also considering quitting the workforce...
It has been an eventful week for the industry, including news of Eurocell’s acquisition of Alunet Group and its stable of brands, plus the acquisition of Senior Architectural Systems by Assa Abloy and also the acquisition of Parkside Group – including the Comar aluminium systems and Axim hardware brands – by building envelope solutions specialist, Bailey And in the last...
I had the opportunity to talk to a number of industry leaders recently, with the conversation inevitably turning to the health of the industry, how well they’ve been managing business in the first couple of months of 2025 and what the feedback from their customers has been like. While the discussions also included rumours of certain industry brands that were...
The news that the UK energy price cap is to rise by £111 a year in April, translating to a typical annual household bill increase of 6% to £1,849, is bad news for homeowners but a potential area of opportunity for installer and fabricators. While the price cap increase will have a greater impact on less affluent households, it is...
PVC-U fabricators who are chasing increasingly small margins on volume ‘white window’ manufacturing are running out of road. That’s the opinion of Martin Nettleton, Euroglaze’s managing director, who in this week’s newsletter argues that the business model for PVC-U fabrication has now changed significantly. He points out that Euroglaze enjoyed a strong year in 2024, despite overall estimates that the...