Editors Comments
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Glass Times editor Nathan Bushell welcomes the news that going green is back at the top of the agenda. When the Green Homes Grant scheme was launched in the summer, it was met with a degree of scepticism because of the lack of relevance for the window industry and the number of hurdles installers would have to jump over in...
Glass Times editor Nathan Bushell asks if everyone should shoulder the burden of supply shortages. Mila’s Richard Gyde highlights a significant potential problem for the UK fenestration industry this week. He describes a ‘perfect storm’ of demand and restrictions, including (but certainly not limited to) Brexit, which could negatively affect hardware supply in the UK. While I appreciate the pressures...
Glass Times editor Nathan Bushell studies the latest industry reports. We include a fairly detailed report from Glenigan this week. Yesterday (Tuesday November 10) I watched contributors to the report discuss their findings on a live YouTube Stream (available here – it starts about 15 minutes in), which really put the meat on the bones of what would otherwise be...
Glass Times editor Nathan Bushell wonders how a second English lockdown will affect business. Construction and manufacturing have both been explicitly encouraged to remain operational during the second English lockdown that begins this Thursday and which is expected to last four weeks. And while the over-arching instruction is to stay at home, you are allowed out for specific reasons, including...
Glass Times editor Nathan Bushell wonders if a complete lockdown – if and when it comes – should affect home improvement in the same way as before. As the country teeters unwillingly on the edge of another national lockdown, employers are, quite rightly, planning for how that may play out. While locking down completely on March 24 was probably the...
Glass Times editor Nathan Bushell applauds a fine start-up event by Glasstec. The coronavirus Covid-19 will cast a long shadow over our way life for many months yet. However, as different countries explore ways of controlling the spread of the virus via various lockdown methods, it is interesting to see how people and businesses are resisting attempts to shut down...
Glass Times editor Nathan Bushell says we now have the benefit of hindsight. The two top stories this week tell us what we already know: the Federation of Master Builders reports that half of builders experienced increased workloads during the summer; while Powered Now reports that homeowners have said they won’t let the small matter of a national lockdown get...
Glass Times editor Nathan Bushell continues the conversation regarding education and training. Following on from last week’s comment that training today’s youth should be focused on future needs, GQA got in touch to say parents of college-aged students felt the same way. According to a study conducted by the awarding body, most parents believe that too many young people are...
Glass Times editor Nathan Bushell wonders if young adults are receiving the right education. Yesterday (September 29) prime minister Boris Johnson vowed to give more weight and gravitas to vocational courses, bringing them in line with academic-based courses, such as A-Levels for example. The announcement was accompanied by a photo opportunity involving the prime minister and a trowel at Exeter...
Glass Times editor Nathan Bushell suggests that turning shops into homes could make environmental sense and well as economical. Rehau is reinforcing the message this week that renovating old buildings, rather than knocking them down and starting again, is the more sustainable option. While it may seem an obvious point to make when talking to our industry, which has flourished...
Glass Times editor Nathan Bushell considers ways to steady the ship in rough seas. Some market data, such as that released by Insight Data, points to significant areas of concern in the coming six months or so. Separate to the issue of available work, and the worry that it may dry up come the end of the furlough scheme (which...
Glass Times editor Nathan Bushell welcomes a change of pace. It is not news that would, in a normal year, be greeted with relief, but some of the heat is coming out of the market, according to the latest Business Pilot Barometer; we like to be busy and boast a full order book, but we don’t want our processes to...
Glass Times editor Nathan Bushell reports on the closure of the former Premier Trade Frames site. The UK Window Group has ceased production at its Caerphilly fabrication plant (previously Premier Trade Frames) as part of a longer-term and planned strategic restructuring initiative, the company has announced. “We have roles available at our Treorchy plant and we will be engaging with...
Glass Times editor Nathan Bushell reflects on a tough couple of months at Veka. The job losses at Veka are going to create mixed feelings. However, I can’t help feeling a sense of relief. Veka went through the wringer quite publicly earlier this year as key customers collapsed leaving it severely exposed. It was never on my list of vulnerable...
Glass Times editor Nathan Bushell turns the pages of the industry’s favourite trade magazine. This week, we are dedicating our weekly newsletter to some of the feature articles that will be published in the August issue of Glass Times – and which should have already landed on your desks. This is only a small selection of what can be found...
Glass Times editor Nathan Bushell highlights some recent positive developments. I’m happy for a line to be drawn under the Green Homes Grant scheme. However, it is worth highlighting a view from Certass’s Jon Vanstone that some good could have come from it. “There is no reason to be negative,” he said. “We now have our knees under the table...
Glass Times editor Nathan Bushell asks if the government’s latest announcement was worth the wait. So, we finally have the details of the government’s much-heralded Green Homes Grant scheme. Was the wait worth it? In the government’s defence, it was trying to kill several birds with one stone: energy efficiency; economic stimulation; job creation; consumer confidence; and the promotion of...
Glass Times editor Nathan Bushell reports on a round table discussion that reached some interesting conclusions. The glass and glazing industry should expect current inflated order volumes to last until Christmas, according to a round table discussion that took place online this morning (July 30). Ryan Johnson (managing director of Emplas), Thom Emerson (sales and marketing director of Ideal Window...
Glass Times editor Nathan Bushell provides a quick update on the government’s latest green initiative. Glazing is included in some form within the Green Homes Grant scheme, it has been confirmed – albeit unofficially – by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Jon Vanstone, chair of Certass, has been in discussions with the department, and he updated...
Glass Times editor reports on the fallout from the government’s recent Green Homes Grant initiative. The government’s Green Homes Grant, announced on July 8, looked such a great idea. I wrote about it for last week’s newsletter that same day having read all the pre-announcement briefings. And I stand by what I said, which was (in summary) that many companies...