Gripcore – ‘superior to anything else on the market’

Ben Paul, director of DoorCo customer, Omega Trade Frames, shares with Glass Times why the company decided to switch to supplying 100% Gripcore technology composite doors, and the benefits the new product is delivering.

For the last 10 years we’ve been supplying DoorCo composite doors to our trade customers in the Southwest and last year, we made the decision to switch to Gripcore, DoorCo’s solid timber-core composite door.

The new door is a real success both for DoorCo and for us. The technological advances applied to this door are second to none, and paired with the bespoke colour and style options, you have a product that satisfies consumer demands for a quality aesthetic – while also being more robust than some other composite timber doors.

Gripcore has transformed our product offering and opportunity as a business, as we partner with DoorCo to be the leading supplier of the new door in our region.

Unrivalled performance

DoorCo has developed a composite door using technology that delivers an immovable core, which in our view is superior to anything else on the market.

Gripcore technology combines the best of traditional and modern materials and engineering. The result is a door that is stronger, heavier and more robust than other doors. What this means is that the door retains its good looks, but it is more secure and offers homeowners peace of mind when it comes to protecting against intruders.

This is due to a hybrid cross of laminated engineered hardwood, LVL timber and hardwood stiles and rails, enclosed in DoorCo’s signature 4mm GRP skins. The Gripcore door doesn’t bow, twist or move more than 3mm. This is a major benefit, and one which I can confirm is absolutely true. We have now supplied hundreds of Gripcore doors and have had no issues. Having this backed up by DoorCo’s 10-year warranty and service is reassuring.

Early adopters

Testament to our strong and long-standing relationship with DoorCo is the belief we had in this new door product from day one. In fact, we offered our support in the R&D of the new product and one of our directors installed the very first door in his home to test it.

The results were excellent, and we became early adopters of Gripcore technology composite doors, supplying all across the Southwest. Launching Gripcore was easy. We believed in the performance of the product and the leading choice of colours, styles and different glazing options, many of which are bespoke, and which really suit our customers’ requirements. The service we get from DoorCo, the roll out and support with marketing has made it a great success.

Keeping on trend

Two thirds of the doors we sell are contemporary or designer styles, the Monza and the Augusta being the most popular. Every contemporary-styled composite door we sell now is Gripcore.

The other styles we find popular are the Carnoustie and the Belfry. Customers have a choice between Original and Gripcore for these more traditional designs and we happily supply both. We find that although Gripcore is a premium product, and therefore more expensive than the foam-filled core option, the pricing is still very competitive in the market, and we’ve had no issues with the prices from our customers.

Making the switch

The performance of Gripcore is noticeably so much better than any door we’ve come across and the pricing so competitive, that making the decision to make a full switch of our contemporary door range was easy.

There’s been minimal movement and because Gripcore is fully edgebanded, none of the water ingress that we’ve heard about from other market alternatives. In addition, there was no additional investment required by DoorCo to move over to Gripcore, especially as we also use its prepping service so that we don’t have to carry any stock.

All our door slabs come made to measure, and we find the service effective and efficient for our business. Although we don’t have the space to prep the door slabs on site, I can see that the 914mm slab could be very efficient for a larger fabricator that does everything in-house.

Gripcore by name

When DoorCo launched the new door product we were impressed with the fresh new brand they delivered and have found it very easy to adopt into our business. We are also using the comprehensive marketing materials that DoorCo offer to help sell the benefits of the products to our customers, and for them to use to sell Gripcore on to the homeowner.

For us, Gripcore has revolutionised our composite door business. We have a great relationship with Mike, Paul and the team at DoorCo and we’re delighted to have such a high performing door in our product portfolio.

Omega Trade Frames is a PVC-U fabricator based in Newton Abbot, supplying around 600 frames a week in the Southwest area. It has been a DoorCo customer for nearly 10 years and was an early adopter of Gripcore technology, which was launched in November 2021.

CAP: Replacement Gripcore door. Solid, robust and secure, yet the design fits with all style of houses.