Heritage windows drive demand

2017 has been a standout year for Slenderline Glass, according to director Andy Cocker.

If it wasn’t enough for Slenderline to now account for 50% of our parent group’s total production, we needed to increase the size of our manufacturing facility and invest in new machinery to keep up with the incredible demand.

Launched as a stand-alone business by parent company the EJ Cocker Group after the meteoric rise of their heritage operation, Slenderline Glass has gone from strength to strength in just five years.

When we look back on 2017, it has been an absolute whirlwind with Slenderline storming ahead in the heritage market. We believe the combination of ultra-modern thermal performance and heritage aesthetics with pinpoint accuracy creates an incredibly valuable product for joiners, builders and window manufacturers. With a full range of sizes to match any traditional rebate and acceptance into UK conservation areas, Slenderline offers something unique in the heritage sector.

It’s a proposition that more and more customers have explored, and we’ve had to double the size of our manufacturing facility in Kent and invest in additional machinery. We recently purchased an MTL Panther which makes glass cutting much faster while maintaining ultimate precision.

We have seen consistent growth year-on-year since we formed Slenderline, with sales up 20% on the year before and of course our heritage operation now making up half of the group’s total production.

Obviously, it has taken a lot of investment and resources to expand our factory but the benefits to the business are ten-fold. The new machinery speeds up our production without losing quality and the extra space allows us to store greater volumes and, in the future, dedicate more space to our thriving bespoke manufacture, creating complex solutions such as large shaped IG units.

Bolstering the business means Slenderline can continue to meet demand from projects in conservations areas across the country, our fastest growing market. Over the past 12 months, Slenderline slimline units have been specified for restoration and replacement projects in period properties and even complex listed buildings.

We’ve worked incredibly hard to ensure our slimline units comply with the strict guidelines of the UK’s conservation areas. The principal criteria of compliance is complete authenticity and that’s what our units offer. Every dimension and finite detail has been scrutinised to ensure a truly authentic product, which is a great assurance for our customers.

The heritage market is absolutely booming and with over 8,000 conservation areas in the UK, Slenderline creates a fantastic opportunity for installers to win new business. Our units service any need or application with 12mm, 14mm and 16mm options to match all traditional rebates, and stand-out thermal performance through the warm edge technology of Super Spacer Heritage and either argon or krypton gas.
While 2017 has been a fantastic year, we are planning for 2018 to be even better. We have bold plans to take our product range to more customers across the UK, in the pursuit of becoming the industry leader in advanced heritage units.

With our enhanced manufacturing and logistical capabilities, and the strength of our product range we know this is possible. 2018 is shaping up to be fantastic year for Slenderline and we are excited to see what new success it will bring.

www.slenderlineglass.com