Glass Times editor, Luke Wood, sits down with Dominic Francis, managing director of Trade Window Centre (TWC), and Sam Weber, group sales Director of the UKO Group, to discuss major investments, operational transformation, and the launch of the new Ultima product range.

Luke Wood (LW): There’s been significant investment at Trade Window Centre this year, with new machinery, a new operations director, and a major relocation. Can you give us a brief overview of what’s been happening?

Dominic Francis (DF): It’s been a huge year for us. The headline investment has been a new SBA-IV machining centre, which has taken our production capacity from the low hundreds into the thousands. Alongside that, we’ve moved into a brand-new 26,000ft² facility.

The new site has allowed us to start from a blank canvas. It’s modern, spacious, and fully customisable, unlike the older buildings we’d worked from previously, where space planning was always a challenge.

We’ve also strengthened the team by bringing in Stewart Peat as our new operations director. Stewart is well known in the industry and has already accelerated everything we’ve been building towards over recent years.

The investment continues: we have a new Hafner SMR-V head welder arriving in January, and we’ll be adding corner cleaners and other machinery as part of a longer-term plan to remove bottlenecks and future-proof the business. It’s all geared towards supporting our growth strategy and maintaining the service levels our customers expect.

LW: Sam, one of the most exciting developments has been the introduction of the new Ultima product range. What was the reasoning behind this launch, and what does it mean for your customers?

Sam Weber (SW): When I joined the group in February, we had a clear strategy to take the businesses to £50m turnover within five to six years. Part of that meant ensuring each company had the right product range and the right brand proposition.

From the FIT Show onwards, Dom and I worked closely to examine all the key profile suppliers. They were all strong, but ultimately we chose Profile 22 by Epwin Window Systems for a range of reasons. From there, we began transitioning the products and getting the new range ready for market.

A crucial part of the launch was developing a consumer-focused brochure, something that was tangible and high-quality for retailers to use in the home. Thanks to our in-house marketing team, we produced what I genuinely believe is the best brochure I’ve ever worked on. And we delivered it quickly, which is only possible when you have strong alignment between manufacturing, marketing, and sales.

We wanted Ultima to be a standalone brand rather than a manufacturing-led one. Its strapline – secure, intelligent and efficient – captures what we’re aiming for: a modern, consumer-minded proposition.

The range incorporates wider colour options, an easy-to-use pricing and ordering portal, and smart technology through our partnership with Kubu, whose energy, product knowledge and values align perfectly with ours.

The reception so far has been fantastic, and you’ll see Ultima evolve further throughout 2025 and 2026. Over time, it will become a platform for generating consumer leads for our customers.

LW: Dom, another major advantage for TWC is your background on the retail and installation side. How does that experience influence the level of service you offer trade customers?

DF: At heart, I’m still a fitter. Even though we’re now a large-scale PVC-U fabricator, that installer mentality never leaves you. It shapes how we communicate, how we solve problems, and how we prioritise what matters to our customers.

Every installer knows that even a small issue – a trickle vent, an end cap, a remake sash – can affect someone’s reputation and their ability to get paid. Understanding that urgency is crucial. It’s one of the reasons we started fabricating in the first place: we were repeatedly let down by suppliers who didn’t appreciate the importance of a quick resolution.

Because we’ve run an installations business, South Yorkshire Windows, for seven years (and still do), the whole team understands the real-world pressures installers face. That ethos flows through the business. Communication is key; clear, timely, and focused on putting things right when they go wrong.

It might sound cliché to say the customer comes first, but we actually live by it. That’s what makes the difference.

SW: If I can add to that, there’s a wider point about resonance with your customer base.

Throughout my career in trade manufacturing, I’ve always tried to understand the varying needs of different types of customers from trade counters, small one-man bands and multi-site retailers.

What we’ve seen recently, even at events like the FIT Show and the Glazing Summit, is a growing disconnect between some manufacturers and their target audience.

Dom’s installer background bridges that gap. It means TWC truly understands what trade installers need, and more importantly, why they need it.