Ideal Window Solutions made the decision to back Emplas in a new three-year deal on the strength of its support for its work in commercial markets.

The figures tell a story. The Government has targeted the commercial sector with delivering 300,000 new homes a year by the middle of this decade. In England between 1 April and the 31^st of March 2022 there were 38,436 completions and 37,164 starts.

Easing pressure on the market is a key infrastructure priority for the UK and a massive area of opportunity for the window and door industry – if you’re equipped to service it.

“Our order book is immense,” says Thom Emerson, director Ideal Window Solutions. “Housebuilders can’t get windows and doors quick enough.”

Set up by Chris Palmer and joined by Thom, a former Masco director, in 2012, Ideal Window Solutions had sub-contracted in the commercial sector to Speed Frame until its administration in 2008.

It became an Emplas customer in 2017 and has now signed a new three-year supply deal with the company.

“We don’t tend to enter into long term contracts of this nature,” continues Thom, “but there’s good reason for it.

“As a starting point you need stability from a supplier. We also work with local authorities and we have 10-year service agreements and guarantees in place. We do know what it’s like to lose a supplier, so stability is important. Housebuilders want commercial continuity.

“We also wanted to work with someone who made a decent window. It sounds a basic requirement but there are lots of people who don’t and still sell them.

“But importantly for us, we’d witnessed Emplas’ willingness to support us during Covid and lockdowns – something which they got a lot of flak for – and that was important in showing us that they understood the pressures that we were working under and would work with us to support delivery.

“We had projects that we had to deliver,” says Thom. “Housebuilders were desperate for products, but the supply chain was so disrupted they couldn’t get them. Emplas worked incredibly hard to support us in getting to site and getting projects completed. That’s been important in underpinning the business that we’ve won since,” he explains.

It has also been a driving force behind Ideal Window Solutions’ decision to commit to a three-year supply agreement with it.

The commercial sector like every other sector, has seen a significant increase in costs. Structural steel is up by more than 40% year on year. Concrete reinforcing bars jumped by 44%, while particle board has increased in cost by almost 45%

“Price inflation has been a problem. We’re working on longer lead times and we need to work with a supply partner who is intelligent enough to understand that,” Thom continues.

“Ultimately, we’re taking the risk, not Emplas. If prices are increasing, we’re the ones taking the hit because we have the contractual commitment to the housebuilder to deliver against a price.

“Emplas has understood that we need protection in that relationship, so we’re not carrying the hit alone and we can make a workable profit.”

He said that Emplas had also shown a willingness to invest in the relationship. This includes its approach to stillage management.

“It’s critical to us that stillages are loaded correctly and ordered by plot because you can imagine that if you’re fitting windows in 200 or more properties and the frames you want are on a stillage on the other side of site, it’s going to be a pain. The site manager doesn’t care. You’re the sub-contractor and it sits with you.

“The basic management of stillages on site, the time it takes to return them is a massive undertaking in its own right,” Thom explains.

“Emplas have invested in more stillages, bar code tracking on stillages, which feeds into EVA so we get visibility; its changed the way that it stacks and delivers stillages, wrapping product to meet health and safety requirements set down by housebuilders.

“It’s been a big investment on their part.”

Thom predicts that the supply and demand for new housing means that the commercial sector will continue to perform strongly into next year.

“We’re working with leading national housebuilders – they have an incredible number of projects coming online, so looking ahead, our prospects are pretty good.”