Posted On - 22/08/2017
Kaliber Group – which owns KAT, Ayrshire Aluminium and Spitfire Doors – recently acquired Universal Arches. Group chairman, David Richards, tells Glass Times about the opportunities now possible across Kaliber Group businesses. There is an established relationship between Kaliber and Universal Arches, with synergies between KAT and UA especially. Both manufacturers have become major players in the industry, with KAT’s strong...
Posted On - 21/08/2017
TruFrame’s £3.2 million investment programme is part of a vision for the future. Managing director David Firmager explains why this is a fundamental part of the company’s succession planning. The market for PVCU frame manufacturing is going through a transitionary phase at present, with some larger groups buying up sizeable existing businesses and distribution channels. Yet, TruFrame firmly remains an...
Posted On - 21/08/2017
Not all that long ago, aluminium was still relatively niche. As far as most installers and end users were concerned, it was a specialist material, only suitable for very specific purposes – heavy-duty commercial developments, high-end residential projects, etc. That’s all changed, according to The Window Outlet’s managing director Ben Warren. The explosive rise of residential aluminium windows and doors...
Posted On - 17/08/2017
As Wellingborough-based Glazerite turns 17, Group MD Jason Thompson discusses how it got to where it is today, and what its plans are for the future. The Glazerite of 2017 is now a rather different animal than the company I began with John Hewitt in 2000. Then, aspirations were to reduce working hours to a four-day week with John intending...
Posted On - 09/08/2017
Pioneer’s Danny Williams answers your questions. This month: “Demand suddenly seems to have dropped off a cliff – should I be worried about an impending recession?” BT, Suffolk. Yes! I believe that we all should be worried, although I am not sure we will go into recession. I am assuming that you focus on the private home improvement market and...
Posted On - 02/08/2017
A compressor is often considered as the workhorse of the shop floor, providing air to power tools and manufacturing processes. However, Steve Downes, Hydrovane sales manager for Gardner Denver, says there are a number of factors to take in to account to ensure that the installation is fit for purpose and able to deliver the required volume of air. Window...
Posted On - 01/08/2017
As a specialist supplier of a niche product, is there still room for Victorian Sliders to grow? Sales director Mark Richmond told Glass Times editor Nathan Bushell that he’s never been more fired up. The market for PVCU vertical sliding sash windows in the UK is around 4% of the overall window market, and competition is fierce among the handful...
Posted On - 01/08/2017
Pioneer’s Danny Williams answers your questions. This month: “I own a small but successful installation company in the Midlands, installing PVCU and aluminium windows, composite doors and conservatories. I have been approached by the manufacturer of the PVCU system that we install to join its ‘registered installer scheme’. Are these things worth the paper they are written on?” AK, West...
Posted On - 28/07/2017
In this digital era, it’s worth getting the basics right in your email marketing campaign to achieve the best results, says Claire Miller, group marketing manager at Customade Group. Marketing has come a long way and this is evident in the number of channels we now use. While I'm a firm believer that printed collateral and industry magazines like Glass...
Posted On - 05/07/2017
Sean Smalley, owner of Lincoln Window Design, says that implementing Origin’s Sale Safe (OSS) system has transformed the way in which his business operates. The company’s ordering process is now more accurate and efficient, with new quotations taking just minutes to complete. OSS is brilliant. It is as simple as that. It cuts out all human interaction, which not...
Posted On - 29/06/2017
Mark Tetley, director of Bison Frames takes a look at the importance of the mechanically jointed concept and the impact that the Genesis Vertical Sliding Window has had over the last four years in the window industry. In the beginning the Genesis VS fully mechanical concept was conceived purely to meet the needs of the largely untouched heritage market, previously...
Posted On - 27/06/2017
Sliders UK completed its MBO in April. Steve Mines, sales director and part-owner of Sliders UK explains what it means for its customers and the industry. If you look at the stats, MBOs are almost without exception good for businesses and their customers. They lead to product development, investment, improved services and growth – and we’re already a long way...
Posted On - 26/06/2017
Since replacement vertical sliders have come a long way since the first examples hit the market in the early ‘noughties’, Quickslide talks about the company’s pursuit of authenticity. Although there are an estimated six million properties in the UK that sport vertical sliding windows, it was originally regarded as a niche market. Quickslide’s claim that when it entered the market...
Posted On - 19/06/2017
The fenestration industry is one of the more vulnerable elements of the UK construction industry so it is a real achievement for Ford Windows to have prospered and grown for the past 40 years. The Sheffield-based business was started by Dennis Taylor, a plumbing merchant, and Charlie Ford as Ford Glass & Glazing, and then joined by Roger Sidebotham. Originally...
Posted On - 25/05/2017
Glass Times editor Nathan Bushell visited Origin’s new headquarters in High Wycombe to discover how success in showrooms is translating to tangible benefits in the office. Origin manufactures lifestyle products, and is part of a growing breed of fenestration companies that shamelessly reaches out to the end user with its branding and marketing. The company is still a family business,...
Posted On - 25/05/2017
Pioneer’s Danny Williams answers your questions. This month: “I run a small but successful window manufacturing business in the south west. Rather than advice, I am interested in your opinion on how you believe the general election will affect businesses such as ours. Previous recent elections have resulted in a pause rather than any serious disruption to the home improvements...
Posted On - 06/05/2017
Roseview’s FIT Show appearance will mark a highpoint in 12 months of celebration designed to mark its 40th year in business. Mike Bygrave, Roseview’s marketing manager, explains. Our first appearance at the FIT Show last year was very successful for us – we walked away with significantly boosted brand awareness and a rush of new leads. But this year it’s...
Posted On - 05/05/2017
Polyframe acquired the Customade Group in February, which has created the UK’s largest fabricator with revenues of more than £100 million. Customade Group’s sales and marketing director Gareth Thomas tells Glass Times what we can expect the group to deliver. I like to think that we’ve just become the biggest name that people may never have heard of, until now....
Posted On - 21/04/2017
Glass Times editor Nathan Bushell visited Frame Fast in Derby to find out how evolving customer expectations are affecting its plans for growth. When Glass Times met Frame Fast’s sales director Nigel Leivers at the end of January, the company had just celebrated its 20th anniversary. Interestingly, Frame Fast is four years younger that its retail sister company, the slightly...
Posted On - 21/04/2017
New figures from Palmer Market Research suggests end-user expectation in the conservatory sector continues to shift towards flexible family spaces. Emplas’s sales and marketing director John Leary discusses. Published at the beginning of the year, figures from Palmer Market Research were bitter-sweet reading for the conservatory sector. The Market for Domestic Conservatories, reported that at 78,800 units, conservatory sector hit...
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