How to navigate a turbulent market
Managing director, Russell Ager, reveals how strategic partnerships and innovation keep Crittall Windows resilient in a challenging market.
It hardly needs saying, but it is clear that in 2025, the UK window and door sector is under relentless pressure. Material costs fluctuate sharply, building regulations tighten every year and imported systems challenge domestic manufacturers on price and specification.
Surviving in this environment demands more than heritage or reputation can achieve alone.
Instead, it requires a willingness to rethink the business, invest in new capabilities and offer products that meet both regulatory demands and real-world installation needs. At Crittall Windows, diversification is not a strategy among many; it is the principle that has allowed the company to maintain resilience, relevance and growth, despite the obvious challenges.
Diversification begins with the product range. Domestic manufacturers cannot rely on a single system or profile. Crittall’s recent agreement to fabricate Secco Sistemi’s thermally broken steel systems demonstrates the value of strategic partnerships.
The Italian company brings decades of experience in energy-efficient steel windows and doors, and its profiles are now produced in the UK for the first time. Now, this is more than a licensing exercise. It requires investment in tooling, assembly processes and staff training.
For fabricators and installers, the result is access to premium systems with guaranteed supply, support and warranty, underpinned by British production standards. The trade benefits because risk is reduced and options are expanded, demonstrating that diversification is about control as much as choice.
Technical innovation is another form of diversification. Crittall’s Corporate W20 TE system, launched last year, meets current Part L requirements with U-values of 1.4 W/m²K while retaining the slim sightlines that define steel windows.
Rather than adopting conventional thermal breaks, Crittall developed a patent-pending profile adaptation to create a thermal gradient within the steel. Dual weather seals and high-performance glazing enhance efficiency and weather resistance. The system allows heritage projects to retain authentic appearance and new builds to meet energy targets without compromise. By innovating within existing profiles, diversification reduces exposure to regulatory change while extending the appeal of core products.
Diversification also extends to hardware. The addition of Formani handles and fittings across the portfolio demonstrates how attention to detail complements engineering. Formani’s precision-engineered hardware gives installers and fabricators confidence that components will perform as specified and maintain aesthetic integrity.
This reduces specification errors, improves project outcomes and broadens the appeal of Crittall systems in both residential and commercial applications.
Underlying these initiatives is domestic manufacturing capability. Crittall’s Essex plant integrates advanced CNC machinery, lean processes and energy-efficient systems. Powder coating, materials recovery and process optimisation reduce waste and improve predictability.
Steel is recyclable, but sustainability depends on controlling production. Short lead times, rigorous quality assurance and responsive technical support give fabricators practical certainty in a market where delays and specification errors can be costly. This demonstrates that diversification is not only about product variety; it is about capability and resilience embedded across the business.
The benefits of this approach are clear. Diversification allows British manufacturers to respond to regulatory changes, shifting market demand and competitive pressure from imports without abandoning the character of steel. It enables Crittall to offer systems that perform technically, support design freedom and give the trade confidence in delivery and installation.
It mitigates risk, spreads exposure and creates new commercial opportunities in both domestic and international markets.
In a turbulent sector, success belongs to those who anticipate challenges and act strategically. Partnerships with Secco and Formani, combined with innovations such as W20 TE and a controlled domestic supply chain, show that diversification is a defining principle.
For fabricators and installers, it translates into products that are reliable, technically advanced and adaptable. For the business itself, it ensures that British steel windows and doors remain a benchmark of quality, performance and enduring design.
