Glass Articles
- No categories
Will the glass industry bounce back post-lockdown? Or will any recovery be a precursor to market contraction towards the end of the year? Glass Times talks to Mackenzie Glass. Just weeks into the easing of lockdown, the shape of the UK’s economic recovery and the cost of Covid-19 to the glass industry specifically, is still unclear. What is apparent is...
UK workers have adapted to new ways of working, but does that mean that the days of the office and opportunities for the glass sector are numbered? Glass Times talks to Bohle’s Dave Broxton. It was more than 80 years ago that the architect Frank Lloyd Wright set out his ideas for the open plan office: a place that would...
Covid-19 has had a big impact on UK industry but underlying demand and growth opportunities remain the same argues Bohle’s Dave Broxton. Things are clearly different. We have and continue to go through a period of significant personal and economic upheaval nationally and globally. It has been and it remains difficult but business goes on and demand remains. During lockdown...
IGU supply proved a key challenge for installers as the industry got back to work. Jody Vincent, national sales manager at Emplas, argues that stability of supply may be their next obstacle. One of the things that we know installers have struggled with as the industry came back is IGU supply. It’s difficult to switch a business back on; fabrication...
Matt Buckley, managing director at Pilkington UK, explains how the glass manufacturer is getting back up to speed following lockdown, and calls for cautious optimism for the months ahead - while the sector helps customers adapt to a post-Covid world. Like many sectors, Covid-19 turned glass and glazing on its head, as the shutdown of domestic installations and construction sites...
Colour, seamless welds, flush casements – they’ve all contributed to the growth of the second time replacement market. HiTech Blinds’ Ian Woolley asks: are integral blinds a fourth driver? Integral blinds promise higher margin opportunities and crucial product differentiation in the second time replacement market. They offer a ‘newness’, providing the foundation for an added-value sell, which can support installers...
As Double R Glass & Roofing Systems celebrates 20 years in business, managing director Ian Sims talks to Glass Times about the changes the company has undergone and what’s still to come for the organisation and its customers. We’re celebrating 20 years in business this year and the landscape of our operation today is completely different compared with two decades...
Centre pane failures in triple-glazed IGUs represent an area of growing industry concern. Dave Broxton, managing director of Bohle, discusses. At the beginning of this year a meeting of the GGF was held to discuss the proposed revision of Part L, which sits within the government’s wider consultation on Future Homes. The two options on the table are: one, to...
The government has announced plans for its phased return to work. Mark Knight, Cornwall Glass, argues that from an HR perspective, preparation needs to go beyond practical considerations. Remember that feeling that you get on your first day back after being away on holiday? The fact that it takes a little time to get back into the swing of things?...
The government has announced plans for its phased return to work. Mark Knight, Cornwall Glass, argues that from an HR perspective, preparation needs to go beyond practical considerations. Remember that feeling that you get on your first day back after being away on holiday? The fact that it takes a little time to get back into the swing of things?...
Mackenzie Glass has committed to do things differently, and Glass Times found that this goes far beyond product. “It’s got to be about more than price,” Matt Prowse, joint managing director of Mackenzie Glass, said. “Trust me, we’re not taking that much out and operating on some very lean margins, but that’s not what we’re about; we are, and we...
By Gary Dean, sales director, OnLevel UK. Glass balustrading is no new thing; a broad range of solutions and fixing methods that have been available for some time. So, how do you cut the wheat from the chaff and choose the best solution? Firstly, establish what look you require. One of the first considerations in detailing a glass balustrade solution...
Confusion continues to surround the impact of changes to Document B on the supply of laminate glass in balustrading. Mark Norcliffe, joint managing director of Cornwall Glass Manufacturing, discusses. Regulations are there for the right reasons but they do have unintended consequences. This is very much true of Approved Document B and its amendment in December 2018, which bans the...
Top-end home improvements are a high-margin growth area for glass specialists outside, and increasingly inside the home, according to PGS Glass. Your average three-bedroom semi-detached home doesn’t have a pool, a sauna or changing or games room, but there are a growing number of properties that do, and glass is a defining feature. “We’re definitely seeing more demand and doing...
Do a growing number of centre pane failures in triple-glazed IGUs represent a ticking time bomb for the UK window and door industry? Glass Times talks to Dave Broxton, managing director of Bohle. Although double-glazed units represent the vast majority of installation the number of triple-glazed units fitted in the UK is growing. And so are the number of failures...
A new study shows that homes in many European countries are three times as thermally efficient as Britain’s. Edgetech’s Chris Alderson argues it’s yet more evidence the UK needs a retrofit revolution. Last year, Britain became the world’s first major economy to commit itself to going carbon neutral by 2050. Now, new research has highlighted the scale of the challenge...
Dave Broxton, managing director of Bohle, argues that coronavirus has highlighted fundamental weaknesses in the global supply chain. The cost of coronavirus to the Chinese economy has been massive; its impact is global. JCB announced last month that it was cutting working hours and suspending overtime because of a shortage of parts as its Chinese suppliers struggled to make good...
Leo Pyrah, product manager at Pilkington UK, explains what could be holding solar control glass back from being specified more widely, and its role in the road to net zero. We’re edging closer to the year anniversary of Theresa May announcing the UK’s ambitious net zero target, something that has successfully renewed discussion in government and across the building design...
Are insulated glass units the forgotten element of fenestration? Glass Times editor Nathan Bushell listens to a debate between unit manufacturers and their suppliers. The glass and glazing industry is no stranger to debate, and there have been many events that have raised key issues and have helped shape opinion. Just think of the On the Couch sessions, Edgetech’s Triple...
Mark Hickox, Thermoseal Group’s sales director, gives an insight into the spacer bar market and predicted future trends. Spacer bars, used primarily to space the panes of glass in double, triple and even quadruple glazing, have seen significant development and a change in market demand over recent years. There has long-been a widespread decline in the demand for aluminium spacer...