Keeping up with the Joneses
The choice of doors, windows and conservatories has never been greater, which is great for our industry, argues Apeer’s production director Chris Wilson, but investment now is required to sustain such an output.
The internet has created a worldwide revolution that in many ways equals that of the industrial age. The availability and access to information has never been greater, with the result that people are better informed and educated than ever before, even if one considers the negatives posed by misinformation.
Specifically, homeowners are able to thoroughly research every aspect of their new residential door: how they are manufactured, materials used, colours, finishes, thermal performance, security, sustainability, price – everything in fact is there for retail buyers to compare side by side, to guide their buying decision. Of course, all too often context is lost, but that is something that we as an industry have to deal with.
Apeer is responding, as are other manufacturers, with the result that the product offer in the marketplace is immense, the market flooded with options, many of which emphasise price at the cost of quality. The existence of companies willing to lower prices at the expense of quality is nothing new. But perhaps it’s time that we took a fresh look at this because the window and door market of today is dramatically different from how it was even 15 years ago. Until then the predominant choice was white casement PVCU windows, moulded PVCU residential doors, and Victorian conservatories.
Windows are now offered in a bewildering array of styles, materials and colour and finish options, conservatories are now beautifully finished and matched into the host building with a huge array of stylish design choices, and residential doors are now manufactured in high quality composite materials that are stylish, tough, highly energy efficient, secure and with a mind-boggling choice of glass, colour, finish and door style. All of which generates desire among homeowners and buoyant sales for our industry.
This commitment to product development, initiative and customer choice comes at a price. As well as the huge number of products and options, the number of composite door manufacturers has also increased dramatically. This leads to constant upgrading of products to keep up, as well as continuously designing new styles and offerings. Our new Silka door range is a good example of this, as it was introduced in response to the surge in popularity of smooth aluminium-style finishes.
Providing such a massive choice of products requires a continuous upgrading of infrastructure. For Apeer this has meant a further commitment to factory space and, while we own a large site, we have embarked upon two substantial factory extensions in the past four years, the latest of which has just been completed to add a further 10,000ft2,to bring our site to a very significant 120,000ft2 of manufacturing space.
Within that we have invested in advanced and extended painting facilities, our own sophisticated glass processing plant, including the largest and most advanced toughening plant in the region. In fact, all of the processes involved in the manufacture of the largest range of composite entrance doors that Apeer has ever manufactured, have been overhauled.
The financial, as well as physical, investment for Apeer has been immense. But our industry now competes far more effectively with other markets that are vying for the pounds in the pockets of British homeowners, the majority of whom continue to be in full employment and, despite the best efforts of politicians, remain relatively wealthy and positive.
And as one of the leading suppliers of composite doors and advanced windows and sliding doors, we are now ready not just to do our part, but actually to lead the charge with even more impressive products in the next couple of years.
