Glass Times editor, Luke Wood, visits Victorian Sliders, the UK’s only truly vertically integrated window manufacturing company, as it launches a number of new product innovations.

Victorian Sliders, which celebrates 21 years in business this September, is arguably one of the most remarkable businesses in the UK fenestration industry, growing from a small warehouse with a handful of staff, to Europe’s biggest sash window manufacturer servicing thousands of installer and fabricator customers nationwide.

Acquired by Inwido Group in December 2025, giving it the backing of one of Europe’s leading window and door manufacturing groups, the business is built around a comprehensive, vertically integrated model that is entirely unique in the UK.

The factory, located in Ammanford South Wales, includes PVC-U extrusion and recycling, glass toughening and IGU production, foiling and paint lines, R&D, the ability to make arched frames, manufacture ancillaries such as end caps, as well as state of the art fabrication lines.
Victorian Sliders operates its own transport fleet and even has its own hardware division, based in China, but with robust supply lines and large amounts of stock available in-house. The only elements of the overall product offering that are bought in, are spacer bar, trickle vents and sheet glass.

For all those in the industry – myself included – that are used to seeing dedicated factories for glass and profile extrusion, vast warehouses just for hardware and factories that focus just on fabrication, it is staggering to experience an entire supply chain located under one roof.
Currently producing 1,750 frames per week and 3,500 IGUs, Victorian Sliders has worked hard to maximise operational efficiencies – including the adoption of Kaizen methods of continuous improvement.

The company is also highly committed to listening to its customer base and responding to feedback where it can enhance product and service, via ongoing conversations and an annual customer survey.

Its ability to respond quickly to feedback, with in-house R&D and the facility to 3D print design concepts, is proving to be an invaluable resource, one that has recently delivered a series of product and service upgrades – that are being rolled out this month (September 2026) – that include Timber-Look joints for ECOSlide, a significant increase in recycled PVC-U profile content and the introduction of ECOSelect, a brand-new online ordering application.

Greater authenticity
Designed to replicate the vertical joints on the sash and horizontal joints on the frame associated with traditional mortise and tenon timber windows, Timber-Look joints add another level of authenticity to the ECOSlide range.

Supported by a significant investment on Victorian Sliders’ fabrication lines, Timber-Look joints – which integrate seamlessly with deep bottom rails, and run through sash horns – make a significant difference to the appearance of a sash window, particularly on heritage properties where replicating traditional detailing is important.

As Susan Davies, head of sales operations at Victorian Sliders, explains, the development came directly from customer feedback and a desire for more authentic timber detailing, while retaining the performance and low-maintenance benefits of PVC-U.

Alongside Timber-Look joints, ECOSlide sash windows retain all their core benefits including an A+ energy rating, 10-year warranty, a wide range of heritage colours and woodgrain finishes, market leading weather performance ratings, inclusion of all standard hardware, toughened glass as standard plus options for Secured By Design and Document Q compliance.

Enhanced sustainability
The new Timber-Look option also arrives alongside a significant development in the sustainability of ECOSlide.

Following a £250,000 investment in co-extrusion technology, Victorian Sliders has increased the recycled PVC-U content in its sash profiles from 30% to 40%, with a further increase to 60% planned as the higher recycled content is rolled out across frames and cills from December.

The recycled material is encapsulated within a durable 0.8mm outer layer of virgin PVC-U, allowing Victorian Sliders to increase the amount of recycled material used without compromising the appearance, quality or performance of the finished product.

To date, Victorian Sliders has processed the equivalent of more than 30,000 tonnes of PVC-U through its recycling operations (including post-consumer waste facilitated by Victorian Sliders to other recycling centres).

Alongside the company’s sustainability credentials, Victorian Sliders continues to invest in the longevity and durability of its products which undergo rigorous quality testing at the company’s in-house quality testing laboratory, including weld and impact testing to thermal performance validation and weather resistance assessments.

Making ordering easier
The third development, driven by customer feedback as well, is less visible in the finished product, but potentially just as significant for Victorian Sliders’ customers.

ECOSelect is a new online quotation and ordering platform designed to make doing business with the company quicker and more flexible. Developed in response to customer feedback, it provides instant quotations and allows installers to configure products and place orders without being restricted by traditional office hours.

The platform works across desktop, tablet and mobile devices, both online and offline, meaning customers can quote and order from the office, on site or remotely. A dedicated dashboard also provides access to account information, order tracking and business metrics.

For a business that has built its reputation around manufacturing virtually every element of its sash window solution itself, ECOSelect is another example of Victorian Sliders looking beyond the physical product to improve the overall customer experience.

And perhaps that is the most interesting thing about the latest developments. Whether it is adding a traditional timber detail, increasing recycled content or making it easier to obtain a quotation, each has been driven by a fairly simple objective: to make the product and service better for the people buying it.

“This launch reflects our ongoing commitment to combining innovation with the heritage, craftsmanship and quality that defines Victorian Sliders and ECOSlide sash windows. ECOSelect has been shaped by customer feedback, built in collaboration with trusted third party developers and designed by our team to make doing business with us easier than ever,” continued Susan Davies.

For a company celebrating 21 years in business, it is a clear indication that while Victorian Sliders remains firmly rooted in sash window manufacturing, it is certainly not standing still.